Pizzonia Leads the Way at Valencia - Day One
Antonio Pizzonia set the pace on the opening day of this week's testing at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia.
Antonio Pizzonia set the pace on the opening day of this week's testing at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia.
The Williams test driver, fighting for a racing seat against Nick Heidfeld, had a strong first day and finished nearly a second ahead of the German, who was fifth quickest today in the second FW26 car.
Red Bull's Christian Klien was second fastest for the Austrian-owned squad, outpacing Scot David Coulthard by almost eight tenths of a second. The Scot, however, stopped on track with mechanical problems during the session.
The Renault team debuted their new R25, which will be officially launched next Monday, with Spaniard Fernando Alonso at the wheel. The programme with the new car concentrated on an initial shakedown and solving new-car reliability faults, which saw the R25 make two precautionary stops out on track after only 15 laps.
"I have a good first impression of the car, in spite of the delays on the first day," said Alonso at the end of the day. "The engine is powerful and pulls strongly from low revs, while inside the car, the driving position is comfortable.
"We did not do enough running to have a firm idea of the handling, and our aim for tomorrow will be to complete more laps in order to start learning about the car."
Technical director Bob Bell added: "Today was about resolving new-car reliability issues, which saw us stop the car out on track twice. However, the initial signs were promising and we expect to begin more substantial running tomorrow."
Alonso's teammate Giancarlo Fisichella drove the R24 chassis before he tests the new car next Thursday.
The BAR-Honda team had two of their new 007 cars on track today, with Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson doing the driving. Sato finished fourth quickest after 78 laps, while Davidson, who lost yet another Honda engine in spectacular fashion, was eighth.
Toyota worked with Ricardo Zonta and Olivier Panis, the Brazilian finishing ahead of the veteran Frenchman.
Today's times:
Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Pizzonia Williams-BMW (M) 1:11.355 53 2. Klien Red Bull-Cosworth (M) 1:11.617 72 3. Alonso Renault (M) 1:11.750 15 4. Sato BAR-Honda (M) 1:11.839 78 5. Heidfeld Williams-BMW (M) 1:12.298 60 6. Coulthard Red Bull-Cosworth (M) 1:12.404 61 7. Zonta Toyota (M) 1:12.670 73 8. Davidson BAR-Honda (M) 1:12.677 75 9. Fisichella Renault (M) 1:12.827 35 10. Panis Toyota (M) 1:13.267 47 All Timing Unofficial
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