2-June: In addition to testing with the rest of the Formula 1 teams at
Silverstone. The BAR team were also conducting a test at the Paul Ricard
circuit. The team tested the major modifications planned for the Canadian
Grand Prix. Olivier Panis tested on the first 2 days with Anthony
Davidson testing on the final 2 days.
Unlike at Silverstone, the weather was dry and sunny and the drivers managed
to cover over 280 laps over the 4 days with Anthony Davidson setting a new lap
record on the track with a best time of 1:34.215
Team boss David Richards is hoping the new package will help the team
in Canada and said "We go to Montreal with the new evolution car and
engine and, whilst we are under no illusions that it will cure all our
problems, we are optimistic that it will go some way towards reversing our
fortunes this season. The team have worked incredibly hard to meet the Canada
deadline and I hope we can reward their efforts with a strong race on
Sunday."
1-June:
Photos from the mega test at
Silverstone are now available featuring 19 regular
and test drivers from the Ferrari, Williams, McLaren, Renault, Sauber, Jordan, Jaguar,
Toyota, Arrows and BAR teams ... Click
Here
31-May: "A
rare win for McLaren?"is the title of the 15th issue from the
Diagnosis and Prognosis Series for the 2002 season. In this issue, the Heretic
looks at the aftermath of the Monaco Grand Prix - Issue
15
30-May: On the final day of testing at Silverstone, Rubens Barrichello
continued to set the pace ahead of Allan McNish and Enrique Bernoldi.
Once again the weather conditions were mixed and the teams had various
interruptions to their test programmes.
10 teams were present with 16 drivers setting lap times. Williams test driver
Marc Gene covered the most number of laps with 74 followed by Rubens
Barrichello with 58 and Jacques Villeneuve with 55 laps.
Fernando Alonso had his first taste of the Jaguar R3 and impressed straight
away setting the 4th fastest time of the day and marginally faster than
Jaguar's regular driver Pedro de la Rosa.
The teams tried to finalise their testing programme in preparation for both
the Canadian and British Grands Prix but apart from the weather, there were a
number of red flags during the day with a number of drivers going off as a
result of the mixed conditions. A number of drivers suffered mechanical
problems on the track.
The teams now prepare for the long haul trip to Canada.
The Minardi team was the only team not present at
Silverstone this week as they opted to test at Vairano with Matteo Bobbi
driving. The team concentrated on testing a number of aerodynamic components
on the car in preparation for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Minardi's chief aerodynamicist Loic Bigois said "We have completed two
days of intensive work here in Vairano, where our main goal was primarily
aerodynamic testing. Apart from analysing a considerable amount of aerodynamic
data, we were also able to do some development work in preparation for the
Canadian Grand Prix. We are more than satisfied with the outcome of this test
session."
No times were available from the test.
29-May:
On the second day of testing at Silverstone, Rubens Barrichello topped the
timesheets ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard.
10 teams were present and 18 drivers set lap times. The weather conditions
were better than yesterday but were still mixed with a few dry breaks giving
the drivers a chance to test on a dry track.
Kimi Raikkonen covered the most number of laps with 61 followed by both Ralf
Schumacher and Jenson Button with 55 laps each.
The teams continued their preparations for the Canadian and British Grands
Prix. The mixed weather conditions also gave the teams a chance to run some
wet tyre testing.
The Jaguar team continued evaluating their young drivers. After Andre Lotterer
tested yesterday, it was James Courtney's turn. Due to different weather
conditions times cannot be compared though. Renault's test driver Fernando
Alonso takes the Jaguar R3 for a drive tomorrow.
At Monza, Ferrari concluded
their tyre evaluation test with Luciano Burti driving the F2001. Burti
covered a total of 84 laps with a best time of 1:25.476.
The team also conducted some brake tests.
Weather was sunny with a maximum air temperature reaching 24 degrees.
28-May: On the first day of testing at Silverstone this week, Giancarlo
Fisichella set the fastest time ahead of Jaguar's test driver Andre
Lotterer and Ferrari's test driver Luca Badoer.
9 teams were present with 13 drivers setting lap times. The track conditions
were mainly wet making it impossible to set a quick lap time or compare times.
Luca Badoer covered the most number of laps with 78 followed by Eddie Irvine
with 63 and Ryan Briscoe with 51. Felipe Massa covered the least number of
laps with 16 as he started testing in the afternoon.
The session was interrupted a number of times due to drivers spinning on the
wet track. However, there were no major incidents.
The teams were concentrating on setup for the upcoming Canadian GP as well as
the British GP as this is the last test on this track before the British GP on
the 7th of July.
Testing continues tomorrow with Arrows joining the test.
At Monza, Luciano Burti
started a tyre evaluation test driving the Ferrari F2001. Burti covered a 81
laps on a modified Monza track. No times were available.
Weather was sunny with a maximum air temperature reaching 24 degrees.
Testing continues tomorrow.
28-May: Jarno Trulli's
4th place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix was pending confirmation by the FIA
due to a seal missing from the electronic box on his car. The FIA have now
checked the electronic box and declared it within the regulations. A statement
by the FIA read "Further analysis of an electronic unit on car 14 was
completed today (28 May) by members of the FIA’s Technical Department.
The unit, which forms part of the car’s launch control system, was found to
be in conformity with the requirements of the 2002 FIA Formula One Technical
Regulations. Car 14 will therefore retain its position (4th) in the final
results of the 2002 Monaco Grand Prix.
Certain components are routinely checked at the beginning of the season to
ensure that they have no illegitimate function (*). A seal is then placed on
the unit to confirm it has been checked. There is no regulation requiring the
seal to be in place (as was the case formerly with programmable electronic
units forming part of the engine management system), but its absence means
that the unit has to be re-checked. In the case of this particular component,
the checks could only be carried out away from the circuit, rather like
checking an engine."
(*) For example, an electronic component in the launch
control system might have the means to receive a signal from the pits when the
lights go out, thus enabling the car to start more quickly than it could if
started by the driver himself in accordance with the regulations.
28-May: The Renault team
have issued a statement clarifying the situation regarding the FIA
scrutineering to Jarno Trulli's car. The statement read "At the end of
the Monaco Grand Prix, the FIA took an electronic box from car number 14,
driven by Jarno Trulli, to verify that it complied with Article 882 of the
Technical Regulations. The FIA will take this box to the Renault F1 Team
factory on Tuesday in order for its compliance to be checked." Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering was confident of passing
the necessary checks and said "We are quite confident that everything
will be clarified when we test the box on Tuesday at the factory. It's a pity
this couldn't be done right away at the circuit on Sunday night, and that we
have to wait for Tuesday to clear things up."
In a first for Formula 1, Renault's official test driver Fernando
Alonso will this week be driving the Jaguar R3 setting a benchmark for
Jaguar's test drivers Australia's James Courtney and Germany's Andre
Lotterer. This arrangement was reached between Renault's Flavio Briatore
and Jaguar's Niki Lauda. Niki Lauda said " Our objective here is to conduct a true
assessment of James and Andre by comparing them to what I regard as one of the
best new talents in Formula One. I am very interested to see how my two young
drivers compare to Fernando who, for the first time, will drive a Jaguar
Formula One car." Flavio Briatore said "When Niki asked for Fernando's services for
this one-off test, I was happy to help. Fernando's proven skills will no doubt
help Niki set a benchmark for his two drivers. It will also provide Fernando
an opportunity to widen his experience. This somewhat unusual test will create
a lot of interest, which is no bad thing for young drivers in Formula
One."
27-May:
Jarno Trulli's Renault didn't pass the post race scrutineering check and is currently
under investigation as the FIA found a problem with the electronics box on his
car. A decision will be made soon on whether Jarno Trulli will be excluded
from the final result.
