09/04/2005
NEWS STORY
The BMW WilliamsF1 Team has concluded a three day test at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Mark Webber, Nick Heidfeld and Antonio Pizzonia shared testing duties ahead of the start of the European season.
Over the three days, the drivers covered a combined total of 533 laps and 2,466 kilometres.
Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1): "We worked through a comprehensive test on tyre compounds, aerodynamic parts, traction control and general setup. The Barcelona circuit has clearly changed in terms of lap time degradation over longer runs, so we spent all of the test working in this area. The tyre wear that we have is far from the limit, as it has been in the first three races with the FW27 and we are working with Michelin to exploit this further. On the final day the weather was predominantly wet, so we undertook some wet tyre testing for Michelin and also some electronic and fuel system tests."
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): "It was an intensive test in Barcelona, focused on tyre development. It was good, therefore, that it rained on the third day to allow us to test rain tyres. From a BMW perspective, we optimised our starts and put significant mileage on a number of engines."
To check out our updated Barcelona test gallery, simply click here