NewsOnF1 - 15 - 20 April News

20-Apr: Michael Schumacher improved on the lap record set by Luca Badoer in March by over 0.4 seconds on the final day of testing for Ferrari at Mugello.
Michael continued the development work on the F2001, however before lunch, Michael suffered from a technical problem with the front end of the car causing him to go off into the gravel. The car was damaged as a result of the car going over the curbs and the team decided to end the session prematurely.
Weather conditions were sunny with a maximum air temperature of 19 degrees.

Click here for the test times from Mugello

19-Apr: Michael Schumacher took over from Luca Badoer at Mugello. He concentrated on development work and tyre testing completing a total of 41 laps with a best time of 1:22.393.
Weather conditions were sunny with a maximum air temperature of 19 degrees.
Michael Schumacher continues testing tomorrow.

Click here for the test times from Mugello

19-Apr: It appears that Jacques Villeneuve is coming to terms with the lack of results achieved at BAR. While not regretting his decision to join the team, he admits that renewing his contract in 2000 despite the lack of results at that stage is difficult to cope with. He said "There was a risk coming to BAR. It didn't pay off and that's fine. I could have made different decisions which would have allowed me to fight for the championship, but I've no regrets. I've learned a lot and I'm a better driver than I was.
The decision that is more difficult to accept is to have stayed with the team when I re-signed the contract, because there had been two years of no result and there was obviously no reason for the team to get better. So that's the decision which is more difficult to cope with."
Speaking to the Evening Standard he also gave the biggest hint that he'll be looking somewhere else to drive next year and said "I hate being uncompetitive. Nobody likes it. It is frustrating and it's very tiring. You have to push people to work harder, to make sure it gets better in the long term. But the long term is getting shorter and shorter. I'll see what happens in the next couple of months. I won't stick with it forever. There comes a point when enough is enough."
So both Villeneuve and BAR appear ready to part ways (related story)

It is reported that both McLaren and Williams have both unofficially complained to the FIA about the flexing of rear wing on the Ferrari in Brazil. The FIA are believed to have found the rear wing on the Ferrari more flexible than normal and have asked Ferrari to strengthen it. Ferrari have reportedly complied in time for the San Marino race.
Ross Brawn however was angry at these accusations claiming that those teams are just looking for excuses and said "If you have a quick car, people try to look for easy answers. It is down to a lot of very hard work by skilled people and that is why we have a very quick car."

18-Apr: On the final day of testing at Silverstone, Williams driver Ralf Schumacher set the fastest time ahead of Jenson Button and Olivier Panis.
8 teams were present with 11 drivers setting lap times. Marc Gene completed the most number of laps with 58 followed by Giancarlo Fisichella with 57 and Jacques Villeneuve with 52.
A number of drivers suffered from mechanical problems in the morning including de la Rosa, Frentzen and Webber. In the afternoon, a number of drivers had spins as the track became wet.
The session started under dry conditions in the morning change to wet in the afternoon giving the teams the chance to conduct some wet weather testing.

Click here for the test times from Silverstone

At Mugello, Luca Badoer set the fastest time of the day ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard.
3 teams were present with 5 drivers setting lap times. Toyota test driver Stephane Sarrazin covered the most number of laps with 77 followed by Luca Badoer with 75 laps and Allan McNish with 72 laps.
The session ran trouble free except for Kimi Raikkonen who suffered an engine failure.
Weather was sunny in the morning to cloudy in the afternoon with a maximum air temperature of 16 degrees.
McLaren and Toyota have concluded their testing while Michael Schumacher takes over from Luca Badoer for Ferrari tomorrow.

Click here for the test times from Mugello

At Monza, Luciano Burti concluded testing for Ferrari after completing the tyre evaluation programme in an F2001. He covered 83 laps. No times were available.

Click here for the test times from Monza

18-Apr: Gerhard Berger has admitted that they don't expect to challenge Ferrari at the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix. Williams have not qualified better than 5th in the past 2 years and Berger doesn't expect much better this season and said of the Barcelona track "It's absolutely a Ferrari circuit, I think. We're going to have some circuits where we're really struggling, and that's Barcelona, Budapest, places like that."
Speaking to Autosport he also indicated that while they want to beat Ferrari, it will be a difficult task and said "It was important to get the second position in the teams but once you set your goal and you get to this position, of course you look for the next goal, and the next goal will be to catch the Ferrari. It's going to be quite difficult."

David Richards has given a strong signal that his team cannot afford a driver of Jacques Villeneuve's calibre at this stage and said "I'll be quite blunt about it. The drivers I have got today are above the ability of the car we can provide them. It’s foolish having Michael Schumacher driving a Minardi. It’s better to get the car right, and then go and employ Schumacher later."
Villeneuve doesn't have many options for next season if he wants a competitive drive. It will be interesting to see if he takes a pay cut at BAR and continues his dream of taking a new team to the top or decide to go somewhere else.

17-Apr: Jenson Button continued to set the pace at Silverstone setting the fastest lap so far this year and inching closer to break the record set by Hakkinen last year.
Ralf Schumacher was second fastest ahead of Eddie Irvine.
8 teams were present and 12 drivers set lap times. Heinz Harald Frentzen in the Arrows covered the most number of laps with 79 followed by Nick Heidfeld with 74 and Eddie Irvine with 72.
The session was interrupted a number of times with Villeneuve going off into the gravel and Alex Yoong going off and hitting the barrier.
The teams concentrated on setup testing for the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix. a number of teams also carried out tyre evaluations.
Weather was sunny in the morning to cloudy in the afternoon with a maximum air temperature of 16 degrees.
Testing continues tomorrow

Click here for the test times from Silverstone

At Mugello, Kimi Raikkonen set the pace on the second day of testing ahead of Luca Badoer and David Coulthard. Kimi's best time was only a few hundredths of a second slower than the lap record set here by Badoer in the F2002 in March.
3 teams were present with Mika Salo covering the most number of laps with 83 followed by Kimi Raikkonen with 74 laps and Luca Badoer with 70 laps.
Weather was cloudy with air temperature reaching 15 degrees.
Testing continues tomorrow

Click here for the test times from Mugello

At Monza, Luciano Burti continued his tyre evaluation programme for Ferrari in an F2001. He covered 89 laps. No times were available.

Click here for the test times from Monza

16-Apr: Formula 1 teams returned to the track today in preparation for the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix. Most of the teams are conducting a 3 day test at Silverstone although Ferrari, McLaren and Toyota are testing at Mugello. Ferrari are also testing at Monza.

At Silverstone, Jenson Button continues his impressive form setting the fastest time of the day (as well as for this year so far) in the Renault ahead of Eddie Irvine and Nick Heidfeld.
7 teams were present with 8 drivers setting lap times. Nick Heidfeld covered the most number of laps with 52 followed by BAR's test driver Anthony Davidson with 48 laps and Jordan's Takuma Sato with 47 laps.
Marc Gene covered the least number of laps with 13 after losing control and hitting the barrier at high speed. He didn't sustain any injuries but the car suffered significant damage.
Jenson Button suffered an engine failure as Renault test their latest engine spec while Jordan had a few problems limiting their running time.
Weather was sunny with a maximum air temperature of 16 degrees.
Testing continues tomorrow

Click here for the test times from Silverstone

At Mugello, McLaren and Toyota started testing a day ahead of Ferrari here. Alexander Wurz set the fastest time of the day ahead of Jean Alesi who is testing for the team for a second time. Alexander Wurz also covered the most number of laps with 92.
Mika Salo suffered an engine failure during the session.
The best time set by Wurz is over 1.2 seconds slower than the lap record set by Luca Badoer earlier this year. It will be interesting to see how they compare tomorrow when Badoer joins the action.
Weather was mainly sunny with air temperature reaching 20 degrees in the afternoon.

Click here for the test times from Mugello

Luciano Burti commenced a tyre testing program at Monza in the F2001. He completed 47 laps with a best time of 1:27.449.
The session was run under damp conditions.
Burti continues testing tomorrow

Click here for the test times from Monza

16-Apr: "A Cakewalk" is the title of the 9th issue from the Diagnosis and Prognosis Series for the 2002 season. In this issue, the Heretic looks at the aftermath of the San Marino Grand Prix - Issue 9

16-Apr: Vic takes the lead after round 4 of the 6 'n' Pole Competition. PARTHA scores a perfect 45 ... Overall Results ... San Marino Results ... Popular Picks ... Register

15-Apr: Ross Brawn described Ferrari's 1-2 finish at the San Marino GP as perfect and praised the Bridgestone tyres. He said "It was a very good result. I would say it was perfect. The tyres were very good and I think Bridgestone are now very competitive in all kinds of conditions. It was also a great race from the team who did a good job in Rubens's first pit stop to get him out ahead of Ralf Schumacher."
Brawn however admitted that the car isn't perfect yet and revealed a problem with Michael's steering wheel during the race and said "We had a small glitch with Michael's steering wheel. It did not respond the way we expected it, so we had a spare steering wheel ready at the pit stop, just in case.
We must still expect to work very hard to the end of the season. The car is not perfect and we know what we have to do to improve it. There will be some improvements for the next race in Barcelona I hope."

Ferrari start testing tomorrow with Luciano Burti at Monza while Luca Badoer and Michael Schumacher test at Mugello.

15-Apr: "Your thoughts on the San Marino Grand Prix" - Topic of the week - Have Your Say