Barcelona 2: Ralf shines
Williams were top of the timesheets again today (Tuesday) - only this time the team had to see off most of the 2004 Formula 1 grid. Encouragingly for them, several of the competition were running their new cars at the Barcelona test.
Both Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya were testing the FW26, running quickly and with no problems. Schumacher, who performed systems tests and Barcelona set-up work, lowered the unofficial lap record set by Marc Gene in the same car yesterday.
Schumacher was very pleased with the car's handling characteristics on the Catalan track, as he was at the somewhat different Jerez circuit last week. Montoya did tyre tests and checked cooling systems on the car.
Renault joined Jaguar, Sauber and Toyota in running at least one 2004 model. In Renault's case, Jarno Trulli had the new R24, running solidly until a hydraulics failure stopped him mid-afternoon. Fernando Alonso, driving the 2003 Renault, was third-fastest.
Christian Klien did the first serious test of the new Jaguar, and was some four seconds off the pace. But he had a better day than team-mate Mark Webber, who crashed the old car after a rear suspension failure. Toyota's 2004 car, in the hands of Cristiano da Matta, spent most of its day in the garage, grounded by a software problem.
Timo Glock's first Formula 1 test with Jordan also involved a shunt. The German understeered off the road at the final turn and his car's rear end caught fire as the car came to rest near the pit wall. The car was repaired and he completed a few laps before the circuit closed for the day.
Ralf Schumacher (Williams-BMW) 1m15.710s 80
Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams-BMW) 1m15.822s 85
Fernando Alonso (Renault) 1m15.896s 88
Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) 1m15.994s 60
Luca Badoer (Ferrari) 1m16.989s 59
Jarno Trulli (Renault) 1m17.046s 41
Takuma Sato (BAR-Honda) 1m17.082s 90
Anthony Davidson (BAR-Honda) 1m17.309s 83
Felipe Massa (Sauber-Petronas) 1m17.776s 61
Ricardo Zonta (Toyota) 1m18.101s 83
Cristiano da Matta (Toyota) 1m18.101s 15
Timo Glock (Jordan-Ford) 1m19.625s 54
Christian Klien (Jaguar) 1m19.781s 41
Mark Webber (Jaguar) 1m20.384s 10
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