F1 News - Testing, Testing....
11/12/2006
The second of Formula One’s three pre-Christmas test sessions came to an end last Friday at Jerez, with the Honda Racing F1 Team topping the time sheets on the final day. Rubens Barrichello (1m20.008s) edged out his team-mate, Honda’s test driver James Rossiter, by just 0.1s, during a day of wet-dry running.
The previous two days of testing saw McLaren’s new star, Lewis Hamilton (above), fastest by more than a second on day two, with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa quickest on day one. The times varied each day according to the conditions, but it was Hamilton who set the fastest time of the week on Thursday, with a lap of 1:18.864s.
Many of the teams present completed more than 100 laps per day, allowing them to learn more about Bridgestone’s new-for-2007 tyres and to test parts for their 2007 cars.
“The tyres that we used here were softer than those in Barcelona last week,” said Barrichello, who drove Honda’s Concept Car. “We made a lot of progress with the tyres, but there is still more work to be done. The team will be back at the track next week to continue work.”
There was a surprise visitor to the Ferrari pit on Thursday. Kimi Raikkonen, who will replace Michael Schumacher in the team next year, dropped in to talk to Felipe Massa and to learn about the team’s working practices. He is still contracted to McLaren, however, so he is unable to get behind the wheel of the red cars until the New Year.
This week’s three-day Jerez test is the final one of the year.