Alonso Fastest on Final Day of Barcelona Testing

Renault driver Fernando Alonso ended the final day of testing at Barcelona this week as the fastest man on track, the Spaniard setting a time of 1:15.433

All F1 teams except McLaren and Minardi were running extensive testing at the Spanish track this week, and seven of the teams concluded their testing today.

Alonso, who was running in the Renault R24, showed impressive pace and had several laps run in the mid-1:15. The Spaniard continued evaluating the R24 set-up, focusing on engine reliability and the new electronics. Renault's test-driver, Franck Montagny, was working on tyres and electronics development, and set the seventh fastest time of the day.

"This week, we have demonstrated the inherent reliability of our package," said Renault's Executive Director of Engineering Pat Symonds, "and I think that it is quite an achievement to complete 1300km in the first week running a new car. Our work this week is a tribute to the quality of design and manufacture in both the engine and the chassis."

Alonso was followed on the time sheet by the Ferrari duo, both setting a time over half a second slower than Alonso's fastest.

BAR driver Jenson Button, who set a new Barcelona lap record yesterday, had his day's work cut short when his car broke down on the circuit due to mechanical failures. He ran only 28 laps in total. This, compared to the Toyota duo of Oliver Panis and test driver Ryan Briscoe, who ran a total of 121 and 117 laps respectively.

"We had two good days on Thursday and Friday with a lot of running," Panis commented. "We improved a lot compared to Tuesday and Wednesday in terms of set-up of the car and the lap times. I worked on long runs, tyres and aero tests. It is still early days for the TF104 and we have plenty of room for further development."

Another driver who saw his testing session hampered by technical failures was Sauber's Giancarlo Fisichella, although the team were able to resume the running in the afternoon.

"Today we have run an engine programme which focused on a race simulation and combined this with Bridgestone tyre work," said Sauber's race engineer, Giampaolo Dall'Ara. "Basically we were hoping to finish this reliability test by noon, but because the car stopped on the track due to an electronic problem our work was delayed until the afternoon. However, we were able to complete our programme for today so far and are satisfied with the results we got.

"Despite of some initial difficulties at the beginning of our tests this week with regard to further software adjustments and hence the proper set-up of the C23 we could complete our scheduled programme. Those test days delivered valuable data and results which will give a solid basis for our further work."

Nick Heidfeld, who is yet to secure a seat for the upcoming season, continued testing with Jordan, the German setting the ninth fastest time of the day, having completed 84 trouble-free laps.

"It was a good couple of days for me," Heidfeld commented. "It was nice to drive the car in dry conditions and get through some of the work that the weather prevented us from doing in Jerez last time I tested with Jordan. We concentrated on tyres mostly although there were some other test items today.  It is definitely good to be back in the car, really good fun."

The teams will return to Barcelona for further pre-season testing on February 2nd.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team-Engine Time Laps 1. Alonso Renault (M) 1:15.433 74 2. Badoer Ferrari (B) 1:16.046 82 3. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:16.182 99 4. Gene Williams-BMW (M) 1:16.190 74 5. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 1:16.300 63 6. Rosberg Williams-BMW (M) 1:16.486 81 7. Montagny Renault (M) 1:16.539 84 8. Panis Toyota (M) 1:16.816 121 9. Heidfeld Jordan-Ford (B) 1:16.877 84 10. Button BAR-Honda (B) 1:17.041 28 11. Davidson BAR-Honda (B) 1:17.079 68 12. Fisichella Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:17.248 77 13. Briscoe Toyota (M) 1:18.147 117

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