Barcelona test, day 9: Juan and Eddie tops
Williams newcomer Juan Pablo Montoya topped the time sheets on day nine of Barcelona Formula 1 testing. But in the battle for 2001 honours, Jaguar's Eddie Irvine paced the field, ahead of Ralf Schumacher in the newly-launched Williams-BMW FW23
Neither Williams enjoyed much useful running: Montoya, who was concentrating on tyre testing in a 2000-spec FW22, completed just 17 laps - a figure matched by Schumacher in FW23's first day of proper testing (the car had previously done 15 laps of Silverstone's South Circuit).
The German completed 33 laps, but stopped out on the circuit late in the day after being instructed to stop the car by Williams engineers.
"I heard and subsequently reported an unusual sound to the engineers," said Schumacher. "The team suggested that, as a precaution, we switch it off and examine the problem. I hope for some longer runs tomorrow. My initial impressions are that the car is stable and relatively easy to drive, but development work is on going."
Benetton took second and fourth, concentrating on aerodynamic and chassis development in a pair of 2000-spec B200s. But like all the teams present, morning rain prevented much in the way of pre-lunch laps.
Irvine was fourth overall, but his 1m22.28s best lap was some 1.81s off the time set by Nick Heidfeld's 2001-spec Sauber C20 yesterday (Sunday). Pre-season testing being what it is, it is unclear how much - or how little - ballast the respective cars were running.
Ralf Schumacher was sixth overall, 0.94s off Irvine's time, but 0.34s ahead of Luciano Burti in the second Jaguar R2 and 1.24s quicker than Gaston Mazzacane, who completed just 10 laps in the Prost-Ferrari AP04.
Enrique Bernoldi was fifth overall for Arrows in an AMT-powered, 2000-spec A21. The young Brazilian was enjoying a second outing with the Leafield-based team as part of an ongoing young driver assessment programme, according to the team.
Juan Pablo Montoya, Williams-BMW M (2000 car), 1m20.91s, 17 laps
Giancarlo Fisichella, Benetton-Renault M (2000 car), 1m21.49s, 56 laps
Eddie Irvine, Jaguar M, 1m22.28s, 82 laps
Jenson Button, Benetton-Renault M (2000 car), 1m22.53s, 43 laps
Enrique Bernoldi, Arrows-AMT B (2000 car), 1m22.72s, 30 laps
Ralf Schumacher, Williams-BMW M, 1m23.22s, 17 laps
Luciano Burti, Jaguar M, 1m23.56s, 24 laps
Gaston Mazzacane, Prost-Ferrari M, 1m24.46s, 10 laps
M - Michelin
B - Bridgestone
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