Raikkonen Flies at Silverstone
Kimi Raikkonen continued to show his and his McLaren team's good form by setting a blistering pace on the second day of testing at the Silverstone circuit
Under overcast skies and with temperatures of around 14 degrees Celsius, the Finn posted a best time of 1:18.144 to finish over one second clear of the closest rival.
McLaren, working with the set-up used for the British Grand Prix, focussed on tyre work for the Silverstone race in July, also carrying out dampers testing.
On a day where most of the Michelin runners had problems with graining, McLaren were the exception, not only setting the quickest times, but also showing their MP4-20 car treats its tyres better than its rivals.
Test driver Pedro de la Rosa confirmed McLaren's speed by finishing second behind Raikkonen, with Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella third in the timesheets.
Fisichella and teammate Fernando Alonso could finally kick off their programme after skipping yesterday's session due to the poor weather conditions.
"After the frustration of not running at all yesterday, it was good to get some serious running done today," said Renault's chief test engineer Christian Silk.
"We focused our work around the forthcoming Grand Prix, and obtained good directions on the tyres we want to use in the race. Fernando also began some set-up programmes."
Briton Jenson Button and teammate Takuma Sato also began their work at Silverstone after having skipped the first day of running. Button, fourth quickest, worked on aerodynamic evaluation, while Sato ran through an intensive tyre evaluation programme.
Scot David Coulthard joined teammate Christian Klien as the Red Bull team continued with their preparation work for the Canadian Grand Prix. Tomorrow, Coulthard will be replaced by American Scott Speed, who hopes to impress the team to land the third seat for the Canadian and United States Grands Prix.
Toyota driver Jarno Trulli flew from Italy, where he tested yesterday, to carry out testing work alongside teammate Ralf Schumacher. Both men focused on set-up and tyre work, doing short runs for most of the day.
Rubens Barrichello took over from Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer as the Italian squad worked both at Silverstone and Monza. Barrichello focussed on set-up for the British Grand Prix, and was happy at the end of the day after not suffering from tyre graining in his Bridgestone tyres, a problem which affected several of the Michelin-shod cars.
Nick Heidfeld was joined by Mark Webber, the Williams team completing their second day of work at the British track. Both men finished near the bottom of the times.
"Both drivers did tyre tests for the race at Silverstone in July, testing the prime and option compounds," said Williams test team manager Tim Newton. "They also evaluated some aero parts for Montreal as well as testing brake and suspension set-up. We're looking forward to some more good weather tomorrow for our last day here."
Barrichello and Jordan's Tiago Monteiro were the only two Bridgestone runners at the British track.
The Silverstone test continues tomorrow with all teams except BAR, who are expected to test at Monza.
Today's times:
All Timing Unofficial
Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps
1. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:18.144 103
2. de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:19.212 72
3. Fisichella Renault (M) 1:19.286 101
4. Button BAR-Honda (M) 1:19.601 99
5. Alonso Renault (M) 1:19.769 87
6. Coulthard Red Bull-Cosworth (M) 1:19.773 72
7. Trulli Toyota (M) 1:19.983 108
8. Sato BAR-Honda (M) 1:20.135 166
9. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:20.276 79
10. Klien Red Bull-Cosworth (M) 1:20.542 96
11. R.Schumacher Toyota (M) 1:20.654 68
12. Heidfeld Williams-BMW (M) 1:20.947 93
13. Webber Williams-BMW (M) 1:21.085 79
14. Monteiro Jordan-Toyota (B) 1:23.236 105
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