Jerez 1: New FW26 quickest
Juan Pablo Montoya demonstrated the potential of Williams's radical new FW26 challenger by setting the fastest time on the first day of testing at Jerez today (Wednesday)

Following a day's running at Valencia, largely for the purposes of filming, Williams moved to the track in southern Spain as pre-season testing began in earnest. Montoya completed 46 laps in the new machine, although a gearbox problem delayed him in the afternoon.
Although Montoya's best lap was over a second clear of the second-quickest machine, Ricardo Zonta's Toyota, both driver and team were keeping their aspirations in check.
"It's a normal testing day," said Montoya. "It was ok, but it's too early to say anything more."
Williams technical director Patrick Head told autosport.com: "We had a small gearbox problem with Juan Pablo's car. It's only the start of a long preparation process prior to Melbourne, but it wasn't a bad first day.
"We decided to push the car early because that's what we didn't do last year, and we thought we'd try something different. We're basically going through the systems on the car and checking the response of the drivers. It is a big encouragement to the guys back in the factory who worked on the car. It's still early days yet, and because of the problems we've done very little today, but we'll see."
Marc Gene was also in action for the team, and set the third quickest time in a hybrid FW25 fitted with a 2004 engine and gearbox. The Spaniard completed 41 laps, and was himself slowed by gearbox and transmission problems.
Toyota tester Zonta was joined at the test by race driver Olivier Panis, both running in hybrid versions of 2003's TF103.
Jarno Trulli was fourth quickest, in Renault's 2003 hybrid car, which featured a new gearbox and engine. He was joined by Franck Montagny, with both working on brake and differential programmes.
Ferrari were the fourth team in action, running test driver Luca Badoer alongside Felipe Massa, still conducting work for the Italian team despite his deal to race for Sauber this season. Massa was the quickest of the two, although his best time was only good enough for sixth overall, over two seconds slower than Montoya.
Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW M 1m16.630s 51*
Ricardo Zonta Toyota M 1m17.984s 72
Marc Gene Williams-BMW M 18.045s 41
Jarno Trulli Renault M 1m18.092s 99
Franck Montagny Renault M 1m18.242s 90
Felipe Massa Ferrari B 1m19.002s 60
Luca Badoer Ferrari B 1m19.207s 60
Olivier Panis Toyota M 1m19.377s 47
* denotes 2004 car
B = Bridgestone
M = Michelin

Montoya Flies with FW26 at Jerez - Day One
Feature: New Williams a Nose Ahead of the Rest

Latest news
Top 10 Brabham drivers ranked: Piquet, Lauda, Gurney and more
Its 30 years since the Brabham team started its last world championship grand prix. Time to pick out the best drivers of the once-great Formula 1 squad.
Why F1 2022 tech isn’t all about porpoising and sidepods
Once fears over identikit Formula 1 cars were allayed by visibly different approaches to sidepods and floors, other novel design features have cropped up around the rest of the car.
Bottas feels greater "human effect" on F1 car performance at Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas feels he is able to have a greater "human effect" on the performance of his Alfa Romeo Formula 1 car compared to what he found at Mercedes.
Norris: Long-term McLaren F1 deal allows for better work-life balance
Lando Norris believes his long-term Formula 1 deal with McLaren has allowed him to strike a better work-life balance and relax more away from racing.
The 10 stories to watch out for across the rest of the 2022 F1 season
It’s 13 down, nine to go as the Formula 1 teams pause for breath in the summer break. But what can we expect to happen over the next three months from Belgium to Abu Dhabi? Here's the key storylines to keep an eye out for the rest of the 2022 season
The inconvenient truth about F1’s ‘American driver’ dream
OPINION: The Formula 1 grid's wait for a new American driver looks set to continue into 2023 as the few remaining places up for grabs - most notably at McLaren - look set to go elsewhere. This is despite the Woking outfit giving tests to IndyCar aces recently, showing that the Stateside single-seater series still has some way to go to being seen as a viable feeder option for F1
How a bad car creates the ultimate engineering challenge
While creating a car that is woefully off the pace is a nightmare scenario for any team, it inadvertently generates the test any engineering department would relish: to turn it into a winner. As Mercedes takes on that challenge in Formula 1 this season, McLaren’s former head of vehicle engineering reveals how the team pulled of the feat in 2009 with Lewis Hamilton
The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Personable, articulate and devoid of the usual racing driver airs and graces, Nicholas Latifi is the last Formula 1 driver you’d expect to receive death threats, but such was the toxic legacy of his part in last year’s explosive season finale. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid…
The strange tyre travails faced by F1’s past heroes
Modern grand prix drivers like to think the tyres they work with are unusually difficult and temperamental. But, says MAURICE HAMILTON, their predecessors faced many of the same challenges – and some even stranger…
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24 into a winning car with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel. And now it’s happening again at his current team, but can the rate of progress be matched this year?
Why few could blame Leclerc for following the example of Hamilton’s exit bombshell
OPINION: Ferrari's numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere - just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior