25/08/2005
NEWS STORY
McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya went even quicker on the second day of testing at Monza, shaving another 0.049s off the unofficial lap record he posted on Wednesday.
After having four drivers on duty on Wednesday, today the Woking outfit reverted to the more traditional line-up, with just Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo on duty.
Both drivers continued with Michelin tyre selection and configuration work for the Italian Grand Prix, with some time spent on tyre work for the Belgian race at Spa Francorchamps in two weeks time.
"It was a positive session for me today at Monza," said Raikkonen. "We completed our scheduled programme and set-up work for the Italian Grand Prix went well, I am looking forward to the race. It was a bit of a difficult afternoon for us yesterday because we had to spend some time working on the car following the minor issue with the gearbox. However the team worked really hard to get the car out on track to complete a couple of installation laps, which set us up for the good running today."
"It has been an encouraging test this week," added Juan Pablo, "the car has run really well at Monza, and it feels quick. We put in some quick times, and hopefully we can keep this pace for the race. I have completed a number of long stints over the course of the test and have some valuable information for the tyre selection process with Michelin for both Italy and Spa."
With five races of the 2005 season remaining, and just 4 of its allotted 30 test days remaining, the Woking team worked hard in order to get through its programme in just 2 days, and will therefore miss tomorrow's session.
It was a mammoth day's testing for Renault, with the team completing 1600 km in a single day with two cars. Giancarlo Fisichella completed nearly three race distances, while Fernando Alonso was close to two and a half. The heavy workload focused on tyre and brake testing, and was designed to protect the team against the forecasted threat of rain disrupting running tomorrow.
"We had a big programme to run today, and it required a disciplined approach to get everything done," said Chief Test Engineer, Christian Silk. "The bulk of our work was on tyre testing - compounds and constructions for both Monza and Spa. We also took time to conduct brake evaluation and tick this off our job list for the Grand Prix here in Monza, and also completed some set-up work for next weekend and the following race in Spa."
WilliamsF1 will be buoyed by Mark Webber's pace, the Australian finishing fourth quickest, albeit 1.1s off Montoya's pace. Webber was joined by Nick Heidfeld, who was making his Monza debut with the FW27.
"Mark and Nick were on duty for the team today," said Tim Newton. "The pair completed aero tests, tyre evaluations and set-up work on both cars for next week's GP here. We also carried out further investigations following the tyre incidents that occurred during last weekend's race."
Having opted to sit out the first day of testing - due to the 'greenness' of the track - BAR was on duty today, with Jenson Button, Takuma Sato and Adam Carroll all in action.
Jenson had a productive morning running through an aero evaluation, while Takuma's morning session was interrupted by a gearbox problem which limited his running to 22 laps.
Carroll, at the wheel of a development car for 2006 systems, completed three runs acclimatising himself to the car and the circuit.
Jenson continued his planned programme in the afternoon session running through a tyre evaluation, alongside set-up work for the forthcoming Monza race. Takuma had a more productive session in the afternoon as he ran through a tyre evaluation.
Ferrari had Michael Schumacher and Luca Badoer on duty, both at the wheel of F2005s, as they worked on a development programme focussing on aerodynamics, engine and Bridgestone tyres for the forthcoming Grand Prix.
Red Bull continued making progress, with Christian Klien joining David Coulthard today. Between them the Cosworth-powered duo completed almost 170 laps without problems.
Jacques Villeneuve concluded his programme with Sauber, with Felipe Massa taking over on Friday.
"Today we finalised the race specification for Jacques' car and confirmed the aerodynamic parts for Monza," said Paul Russell, the Swiss outfit's test engineer. "We also started to work with Michelin on the tyre selection programme for the forthcoming Grand Prix, which we will continue with Felipe tomorrow. Apart from this Felipe will help us to validate Jacques' results from the last two days and work out a basic set-up for his car for the Italian Grand Prix."
After Ralf Schumacher's problems yesterday, today it was Ricardo Zonta's turn to suffer, as Toyotas experienced another difficult day at the office. The Brazilian, driving the TF105B, failed to post a time as he encountered a number of different problems.
Elsewhere, Olivier Panis, still working with the V8, finished over 6s off the pace, the Frenchman, once again, complaining of vibration and a serious lack of pace compared to the V10 powered cars. After yesterday's problems, Ralf Schumacher was at least able to complete 107 laps, though his best time was over 2s off the pace.
Tiago Monteiro is delighted with the progress being made with the EJ15B and has confirmed that he will drive the car in next week's Grand Prix. The Portuguese driver revealed that the decision as to who will race the car at Monza was made by tossing a coin - and in case you're wondering, Tiago won!
Nicky Pastorelli and Nicolas Kiesa were also on duty for the Silverstone-based team today, and both ran the new car in the afternoon. Tomorrow, the final day of testing, Narain Karthikeyan will take over.
Minardi made a rare testing appearance alongside its rivals today, as the Faenza outfit began a two-day programme, with Robert Doornbos on duty today and Christijan Albers taking over tomorrow.
The purpose of the test is to work on developing a suitable chassis set-up for the Monza circuit, and to that end, Minardi technical personnel are also taking the opportunity to assess several new aerodynamic components relevant to this high-speed track.
"I was really looking forward to spending a full day testing with the team," said Doornbos, "and was determined that we should get the best out of it. I think we have done just that. We had the opportunity to work with the team in a different way from race weekends, when there is more pressure. Now we can sit down and have a good look at the data. It has also been useful for me personally, as I know the track pretty well now, after 79 laps. We have developed a good set-up for the car, so thanks to all the guys. Everyone looks happy, and so am I."
"I think we've had a very good first day at this test," said Massimo Rivola, the team's sporting director. "We were able to complete many laps, with Robert driving at an extremely consistent pace, which is exactly what was required. As a result, we have acquired considerable useful aerodynamic and tyre data. In that regard, we would like to thank Bridgestone for once again providing us with a good choice of tyres. We made some excellent progress this afternoon, especially considering the fuel load and engine mode we were using. We were also impressed with Robert's physical condition at the end of a hard day's testing - it is clearly very good. Finally, a special word of thanks goes to the Minardi personnel. It is unbelievable to think they only arrived at Monza at 8pm yesterday, and we were able to go out on track with the car at 9am today. The guys did an amazing job to set up the garage completely overnight, so thanks very much to all of them. It has been a great team effort. Bravi ragazzi!"