Raikkonen Fastest, Heidfeld Shines at Jerez - Day Four
Finn Kimi Raikkonen kept his McLaren team at the top of times for the fourth consecutive day in testing at the Jerez circuit.
Finn Kimi Raikkonen kept his McLaren team at the top of times for the fourth consecutive day in testing at the Jerez circuit.
Raikkonen, quickest also on Thursday on his return to work since the end of the 2004 season, posted a best lap of 1.16.307 to outpace German Nick Heidfeld by over four tenths of a second.
Heidfeld and Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia went head-to-head today as the Williams team look to decide who will fill the second racing seat alongside Mark Webber next season. The battle for the quickest time was won by Heidfeld, who lapped over three tenths of a second faster than Pizzonia despite completing less than half the laps.
World Champions Ferrari wrapped up their four-day test, with Rubens Barrichello and Luca Badoer working on car set-up, while continuing with the development of Bridgestone tyres and new components for the 2005 season. The Brazilian was the quickest of the two after 74 laps.
Ralf Schumacher and Ricardo Zonta completed Toyota's work in the dry for this week, the Brazilian taking over from Italian Jarno Trulli at the wheel of the second TF104B. Schumacher was fifth fastest while Zonta finished in eighth position.
"We've enjoyed excellent weather at Jerez this week, which has been very important because we struggled to achieve anything significant in the wet here last week," said Ralf. "We've been working mainly on tyres and brakes and we've got through the plan without any problems. On the first two days we did some set-up work and long runs on tyre casings for next year.
"I had an engine problem on Wednesday, but it didn't really harm our programme because it was at the end of its life anyway. Apart from that it has been a trouble-free week. On the last two days we tested more tyre compounds for next year, doing some more long runs on Friday."
Red Bull had only two drivers in action today after Scot David Coulthard completed his two-day test yesterday. Swiss Neel Jani made his debut with the Cosworth-powered squad as he worked alongside Austrian Christian Klien, seventh fastest in today's session.
Renault's Franck Montagny and Giancarlo Fisichella continued with the work at the wheel of the R24, the Frenchman outpacing the Italian.
BAR test driver Anthony Davidson was 12th quickest after suffering a massive engine blow-up during the session, while Japanese driver Takuma Sato, replacing Jenson Button behind the wheel of the 2005 concept car, was slowest.
The Michelin-shod teams will carry out two more days of testing, behind closed doors, on an artificially wet track on Saturday and Sunday.
Today's times:
Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:16.307 70 2. Heidfeld Williams-BMW (M) 1:16.786 64 3. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:16.800 74 4. Badoer Ferrari (B) 1:16.932 71 5. R.Schumacher Toyota (M) 1:16.937 123 6. Pizzonia Williams-BMW (M) 1:17.097 145 7. Klien Red Bull-Cosworth (M) 1:17.117 100 8. Zonta Toyota (M) 1:17.154 141 9. Wurz McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:17.308 76 10. Montagny Renault (M) 1:17.650 95 11. Fisichella Renault (M) 1:17.994 63 12. Davidson BAR-Honda (M) 1:18.243 96 13. Jani Red Bull-Cosworth (M) 1:18.243 53 14. Sato BAR-Honda (M) 1:18.400 83 All Timing Unofficial
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