2006 Spanish Grand Prix - Race 6/18

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 18:08

Teams pushing for changes to 2008 rules

Formula One teams appear almost certain to push for significant changes to the FIA's proposed 2008 Formula One Sporting Regulations following a meeting of leading personnel ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Team managers from the teams met with the FIA on the eve of this weekend's race in Barcelona to discuss a range of issues, which included preliminary talks about the planned regulations that have been put forward by the FIA.

Now that the 2008 line-up of teams has been approved by the FIA, meetings are now talking place between the teams and the governing body in a bid to frame the rules before the June 30 deadline. They come after a series of meetings amongst the teams themselves to try and reach agreement on the way forward.

Although the provisional 2008 Sporting Regulations were approved by the FIA World Council in March, the message that came home from the teams during the meeting of the Sporting Working Group on Wednesday suggested that there was a desire for major alterations to be made to these proposals.

One source said that while there were pushes to make changes in a lot of areas, the major bone of contention remained the plans for an engine freeze.

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen confirmed that there was a clear desire from the teams to incorporate some of their own ideas in the eventual 2008 regulations.

"The rules were discussed, the FIA brought it up to talk about and probably vote on the 2008 regulations," he said. "But the team managers said, briefed by their technical directors, that there were several proposals under way, being prepared for the FIA on certain technical issues.

"The teams proposed to include these proposals in the decision-making process and then take it to the proper group - the Sporting Working Group is certainly not the forum for technical regulations."

When asked whether these proposals were radically different from what the FIA had suggested, Theissen said: "It is different, but in the view of the teams who worked it out jointly it serves the same purpose - the purpose of cost reduction."

The sporting regulations were published in March and included radical regulations such as an engine freeze for three years, revised penalties for engine or gearbox changes and parc ferme rules getting tightened up so cars cannot be worked on during any night of a Grand Prix.

The engine freeze concept has been debated at length by the sport's car manufacturers, some of whom are reluctant to accept the idea. One alternative being suggested is to limit the engines that teams would be allowed to use during the course of the season.

Honda's Otmar Szafnauer said last month: "I think an ideal way of saving costs is to limit the number of engines we need to build. Engine costs money, that's obvious, and the bigger teams probably build around 200 engines a year.

"And if you limit the numbers of engines to say 40 or 50 for the season, and you use them as you wish for testing and racing, it will naturally bring about longer life engines so you can use them in testing, and it will definitely save money because you're only building 40 engines as opposed to the 200 you built in the past. And it is easy to police."

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 18:08

Horner backs 'unlucky' Klien

Red Bull Racing sporting director Christian Horner has issued a vote of confidence in Christian Klien after dismissing wild rumours that the Austrian's job was on the line.

"Obviously it is too early to judge the job that Christian has done to date, but he is in his third year of F1, he knows this year is important but he is totally committed to the job," Horner said.

"He drove well at the Nurburgring, and was unfortunate with the incident (the red flag in qualifying) and hopefully he will be hoping to repeat that performance here."

Horner further refuted rumours that Red Bull Racing are planning to promote third driver Robert Doornbos to a race seat at the Monaco Grand Prix

"Regarding the Robert Doornbos rumours, there is no substance to them at all. We are happy with the job he is doing as third driver, he is doing a good job for us in the work he is doing on the Friday and in his test role, but we have no immediate plans to change any drivers."

Horner believes that Klien's failure to finish in the points since the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix had more to do with bad luck and poor reliability than anything to do with his driving.

"Christian has had some bad luck and we have not had a tidy race weekend from start to finish without a session or race being interrupted by an incident or a mechanical issue," explained Horner.

"We are getting on top of that now and hopefully this weekend we will have a straightforward practice, race and qualifying scenario.

"The focus for us at the moment is very much on improving the car, which is happening. We were unlucky at the Nurburgring that incidents with the red flag in qualifying and at the start of the race, which hurt us quite badly, but we have got a positive upgrade coming for Silverstone.

"Everyone in the factory is working very hard, we have got a very strong team of people now and hopefully we still start to see the impact of that shortly."

Horner said that the team were in no rush to make a decision about their future driver line-up, with both Klien and David Coulthard's contracts running out at the end of this year.

"Both of our drivers are focused on trying to remain with the team for next year, but we won't be making any decisions until later in the year."

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 18:09

Super Aguri hoping Ide tests again

Super Aguri are still hoping to run Yuji Ide at tests later this year, despite the Japanese driver losing his Formula One superlicence after a poor start to the season.

Ide was unable to continue racing with Super Aguri after the FIA suspended his licence, following a decision by the Formula One Commission's Permanent Bureau. It came on the back of his crash with Christijan Albers at the San Marino Grand Prix.

But despite being dropped from the race team, boss Aguri Suzuki has said he hopes to be able to get Ide back in the cockpit of their F1 car later this year if there is an opportunity.

"We are trying to make some chances for Yuji, but I don't exactly how many times we may be able to," he said. "Our team is supporting Yuji 100 percent, but during the year it may be difficult to find the time to test him."

Suzuki said that he was disappointed about the FIA's decision, which he said had damaged Ide's 'image' in Japan, but believe a lack of testing for the rookie was the main contributing factor in his early season struggles.

"I am sure he is quite a talented driver, but he had no testing before Bahrain and his car is not very good," added Suzuki. "He didn't know the circuits and also he could not speak English, so it was very difficult."

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 18:11

Fry and Dennis applaud rules process

Formula One team bosses Nick Fry and Ron Dennis have backed the process by which the new 2008 Sporting Regulations are being framed - even though teams look likely to push for major changes to the original rules put forward by the FIA.

A series of votes taken at a meeting of the Sporting Working Group (SWG) on Wednesday are understood to have registered that a majority of teams are unhappy at a number of proposals put forward by the FIA.

Although that means that further work will be needed to frame the regulations before the June 30 deadline, the fact that a simple majority will carry the SWG decisions has been welcomed by both Fry and Dennis.

Fry said: "It was the first meeting of the SWG established by the FIA and the process put in place is one we applaud.

"It is democratic and based on majority voting - and the people at the meeting were people with huge credibility and people who have spent a lot of time in F1 – people like Stefano Domenicali, Dave Ryan, Ron Meadows and Steve Nielsen.

"They know about F1 and one of the thing that was encouraging was that they voted with conviction. Every vote was carried by a majority of eight or nine out of 12 – it was encouraging that three-quarters of the field agreed.

"Were the votes all that Honda liked? No they were not. Some we liked and some we did not like at all, but the process is right and if that majority vote in favour or against something then we will go along with it."

Dennis added: "F1 owes me nothing, I owe F1 everything. I try to play a role that some people label as controversial or aggressive, but my role is primarily driven by a desire to see F1 better or grow or improve.

"When you look at the process that unfolded last Wednesday, I was encouraged by the fact that it was a democratic process and all the people who went there worked hard.

"If that is the way we build the future, by a democratic process of evaluating all the options that unfold, then we will have a very good F1. But it has to be democratic through the whole process and that is what I hope will happen."

He added: "I share the view that there seems to be some uncertainty about how it will unfurl. Hopefully if it is a recommendation of the experts then it should be seen as that – and expert opinion should be followed."

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 18:12

Suzuki says Montagny could stay on

Franck Montagny has been told that he has a good chance of remaining with Super Aguri for the rest of the season, even though his deal currently only runs until the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Frenchman has been drafted in to replace Yuji Ide, whose superlicense has been withdrawn, and speculation had suggested that he was unlikely to remain at the outfit for the long-term because Aguri wanted an all-Japanese driver line-up.

But team boss Aguri Suzuki has made it clear that Montagny could continue with the outfit for the rest of the year and has denied any talk that he needs to run two Japanese drivers.

"I have never said that we want an all-Japanese driver-line," he said. "I am sure my team is a Japanese team, but it is not necessary to have two Japanese drivers.

"If there is a good Japanese driver then I can give him a chance, but if not then it is a different story."

Suzuki said that he would wait until after the Monaco Grand Prix later this month to make a decision about whether Montagny would continue with the team.

"We decided just before the Nurburgring to take Franck, but now we have more time to decide in the future. Anyway, he drives in Monaco also and then we have two or three weeks to decide.

"We will have some more discussions with Montagny and other drivers, but I am quite happy using him. He is good."

When asked whether Montagny had a good chance of staying on, Suzuki said: "Yes, depending on his performance. At the Nurburgring he did a very good job, he gave backs lot of information on the car.

"He has a lot of experience from being a Renault driver and he is very good. He hadn't driven our car before the Friday of the Nurburgring and he was immediately on the pace."

Suzuki added that the team were also considering running a third car from the Monaco Grand Prix.

"It is possible, yes, for Monaco or Silverstone. We are speaking to some drivers."

The team's new car, the SA06, is still scheduled to make its debut at the French Grand Prix.

Sadly the pace of the car is too far behind everyone else.

The SA06 is going to be a stepped roll-out as well with Sato getting it first then the no2 driver getting it maybe as much as a month later. :eek:

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 18:13

Klien-Doornbos rumour foiled

Robert Doornbos' management has denied a rumour that, for 15 million EUR, the Dutch driver has bought Christian Klien's racing ride at the Red Bull Racing team.

A Dutch website reported on Friday morning that the price tag made the seat the 'most expensive ever in formula one history', but Red Bull's management also rejected the peculiar story.

''These messages are published by a website which is not FIA accredited nor contacted Robert, the team or us,'' a statement attributed to Doornbos' management said.

24-year-old Doornbos, who is currently Red Bull's 'Friday' test driver, is a bitter rival of countryman Christijan Albers, who - as it happens - writes an exclusive column for the website in question.

Doornbos' management added: ''We are very sorry that people are mislead by this information.''

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 18:14

Friday Feelings as Montoya mauls Mirror

In the ever-boring free practice sessions today the drivers were quoted with the usual 'no problems' and 'looking good' phrases, and perhaps a quote of a little different nature from Juan Pablo Montoya...

Juan Pablo Montoya commented on his first day at the Circuit de Catalunya: "I merely did an installation lap with my new engine this morning and then a short run this afternoon to evaluate our options for the weekend. My left mirror came loose and I had to pull it off, but no problem. So far so good, and I look forward to the rest of the weekend."

Yes, you did read it right, Juan Pablo broke a mirror whilst trying to adjust it approaching 200mph. However it was not a big deal with the team quickly fitting a new one easily.

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 18:39

Friday Free Practice 1.

Code:

[b]Pos	No	Driver			Team			Time[/b]
1	6	Felipe Massa 		Ferrari			1:15.796		
2	5	Michael Schumacher 	Ferrari			1:16.099		
3	35	Alexander Wurz 		Williams-Cosworth	1:16.125		
4	38	Robert Kubica 		Sauber-BMW		1:16.628		
5	36	Anthony Davidson 	Honda			1:16.961		
6	37	Robert Doornbos 	RBR-Ferrari		1:17.424		
7	40	Neel Jani 		STR-Cosworth		1:19.720		
8	39	Giorgio Mondini 	MF1-Toyota		1:20.708		
9	22	Takuma Sato 		Super Aguri-Honda	1:20.744		
10	23	Franck Montagny 	Super Aguri-Honda				
11	21	Scott Speed 		STR-Cosworth				
12	9	Mark Webber 		Williams-Cosworth				
13	8	Jarno Trulli 		Toyota				
14	19	Christijan Albers 	MF1-Toyota				
15	10	Nico Rosberg 		Williams-Cosworth				
16	18	Tiago Monteiro 		MF1-Toyota				
17	7	Ralf Schumacher 	Toyota				
18	12	Jenson Button 		Honda				
19	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	STR-Cosworth				
20	16	Nick Heidfeld 		Sauber-BMW				
21	4	Juan Pablo Montoya 	McLaren-Mercedes				
22	17	Jacques Villeneuve 	Sauber-BMW				
23	14	David Coulthard 	RBR-Ferrari				
24	15	Christian Klien 	RBR-Ferrari				
25	11	Rubens Barrichello 	Honda				
26	1	Fernando Alonso 	Renault				
27	2	Giancarlo Fisichella 	Renault				
28	3	Kimi Räikkönen 		McLaren-Mercedes

Sector Times - Free Practice 1

Code:

[b]Sector 1[/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	6	Felipe Massa		22.535 
2	5	Michael Schumacher	22.608 
3	38	Robert Kubica		22.863 
4	35	Alexander Wurz		22.974 
5	36	Anthony Davidson	23.013 
6	37	Robert Doornbos		23.289 
7	40	Neel Jani		23.809 
8	39	Giorgio Mondini		24.124 
9	22	Takuma Sato		24.210 
10	17	Jacques Villeneuve	31.701 
11	1	Fernando Alonso		609.054 
12	23	Franck Montagny		672.147 
13	21	Scott Speed		872.393 
14	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	890.640

Code:

[b]Sector 2 [/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	6	Felipe Massa		30.315 
2	35	Alexander Wurz		30.452 
3	36	Anthony Davidson	30.611 
4	5	Michael Schumacher	30.647 
5	38	Robert Kubica		30.792 
6	37	Robert Doornbos		31.014 
7	40	Neel Jani		31.857 
8	39	Giorgio Mondini		32.185 
9	22	Takuma Sato		32.304 
10	21	Scott Speed		36.545 
11	12	Jenson Button		37.211 
12	23	Franck Montagny		37.617 
13	10	Nico Rosberg		37.780 
14	15	Christian Klien		38.154 
15	9	Mark Webber		38.527 
16	14	David Coulthard		38.953 
17	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	40.032 
18	11	Rubens Barrichello	40.101 
19	8	Jarno Trulli		40.253 
20	7	Ralf Schumacher		40.964 
21	16	Nick Heidfeld		41.742 
22	17	Jacques Villeneuve	42.418 
23	1	Fernando Alonso		43.272 
24	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	44.146 
25	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	44.971 
26	19	Christijan Albers	45.025 
27	18	Tiago Monteiro		46.292

Code:

[b]Sector 3 [/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	35	Alexander Wurz		22.699 
2	5	Michael Schumacher	22.817 
3	6	Felipe Massa		22.881 
4	38	Robert Kubica		22.957 
5	36	Anthony Davidson	23.093 
6	37	Robert Doornbos		23.121 
7	40	Neel Jani		23.785 
8	22	Takuma Sato		24.135 
9	39	Giorgio Mondini		24.344 
10	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	33.646 
11	11	Rubens Barrichello	33.971 
12	12	Jenson Button		34.534 
13	15	Christian Klien		35.064 
14	10	Nico Rosberg		35.105 
15	21	Scott Speed		35.172 
16	9	Mark Webber		35.662 
17	23	Franck Montagny		35.734 
18	1	Fernando Alonso		36.181 
19	17	Jacques Villeneuve	36.475 
20	7	Ralf Schumacher		36.513 
21	16	Nick Heidfeld		37.570 
22	19	Christijan Albers	37.986 
23	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	38.475 
24	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	38.532 
25	8	Jarno Trulli		39.241 
26	18	Tiago Monteiro		40.738 
27	14	David Coulthard		43.427

Speed Trap

Code:

[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time		Speed[/b]
1	5	Michael Schumacher	11:58:30	306.0 
2	38	Robert Kubica		11:59:47	304.0 
3	6	Felipe Massa		11:57:29	303.6 
4	37	Robert Doornbos		11:35:42	300.9 
5	35	Alexander Wurz		11:33:08	298.2 
6	36	Anthony Davidson	11:46:20	297.1 
7	39	Giorgio Mondini		11:26:51	293.0 
8	22	Takuma Sato		11:38:46	288.0 
9	40	Neel Jani		11:32:59	286.3 
10	17	Jacques Villeneuve	11:12:45	242.9 
11	21	Scott Speed		11:45:54	241.8 
12	23	Franck Montagny		11:26:48	239.5 
13	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	11:46:48	238.4 
14	14	David Coulthard		11:11:35	238.3 
15	10	Nico Rosberg		11:01:46	232.6 
16	9	Mark Webber		11:01:18	226.9 
17	16	Nick Heidfeld		11:06:05	218.5 
18	12	Jenson Button		11:05:07	218.3 
19	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	11:05:53	217.1 
20	7	Ralf Schumacher		11:04:50	209.9 
21	15	Christian Klien		11:14:10	208.0 
22	8	Jarno Trulli		11:01:33	205.9 
23	11	Rubens Barrichello	11:14:59	185.1 
24	1	Fernando Alonso		11:39:00	181.3 
25	18	Tiago Monteiro		11:02:36	178.7 
26	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	11:07:43	163.4 
27	19	Christijan Albers	11:01:41	159.8

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 18:47

Friday Free Practice 2.

Code:

[b]Pos	No	Driver			Team			Time[/b]
1	36	Anthony Davidson 	Honda			1:16.533		
2	37	Robert Doornbos 	RBR-Ferrari		1:16.824		
3	1	Fernando Alonso 	Renault			1:16.860		
4	35	Alexander Wurz 		Williams-Cosworth	1:17.075		
5	15	Christian Klien 	RBR-Ferrari		1:17.086		
6	5	Michael Schumacher 	Ferrari			1:17.100		
7	2	Giancarlo Fisichella 	Renault			1:17.291		
8	12	Jenson Button 		Honda			1:17.414		
9	11	Rubens Barrichello 	Honda			1:17.417		
10	7	Ralf Schumacher 	Toyota			1:17.506		
11	8	Jarno Trulli 		Toyota			1:17.610		
12	16	Nick Heidfeld 		Sauber-BMW		1:17.622		
13	38	Robert Kubica 		Sauber-BMW		1:17.844		
14	9	Mark Webber 		Williams-Cosworth	1:17.908		
15	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	1:17.933		
16	17	Jacques Villeneuve 	Sauber-BMW		1:18.007		
17	6	Felipe Massa		Ferrari			1:18.223		
18	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	1:18.261		
19	10	Nico Rosberg		Williams-Cosworth	1:18.283		
20	14	David Coulthard		RBR-Ferrari		1:18.410		
21	40	Neel Jani		STR-Cosworth		1:18.774		
22	39	Giorgio Mondini		MF1-Toyota		1:18.910		
23	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		1:19.257		
24	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR-Cosworth		1:19.334		
25	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota		1:19.358		
26	22	Takuma Sato 		Super Aguri-Honda	1:19.616		
27	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		1:20.311		
28	23	Franck Montagny		Super Aguri-Honda	1:22.222

Sector Times - Free Practice 2

Code:

[b]Sector 1[/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	5	Michael Schumacher	22.820 
2	36	Anthony Davidson	22.912 
3	1	Fernando Alonso		23.079 
4	35	Alexander Wurz		23.083 
5	15	Christian Klien		23.099 
6	14	David Coulthard		23.139 
7	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	23.176 
8	11	Rubens Barrichello	23.183 
9	37	Robert Doornbos		23.188 
10	17	Jacques Villeneuve	23.199 
11	16	Nick Heidfeld		23.202 
12	12	Jenson Button		23.267 
13	38	Robert Kubica		23.275 
14	8	Jarno Trulli		23.283 
15	7	Ralf Schumacher		23.286 
16	9	Mark Webber		23.314 
17	6	Felipe Massa		23.361 
18	3	Kimi Räikkönen		23.395 
19	10	Nico Rosberg		23.396 
20	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	23.418 
21	21	Scott Speed		23.622 
22	40	Neel Jani		23.646 
23	39	Giorgio Mondini		23.688 
24	19	Christijan Albers	23.773 
25	22	Takuma Sato		23.807 
26	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	23.863 
27	18	Tiago Monteiro		24.014 
28	23	Franck Montagny		24.592

Code:

[b]Sector 2 [/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	36	Anthony Davidson	30.489 
2	37	Robert Doornbos		30.582 
3	1	Fernando Alonso		30.592 
4	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	30.613 
5	35	Alexander Wurz		30.626 
6	12	Jenson Button		30.727 
7	5	Michael Schumacher	30.792 
8	15	Christian Klien		30.794 
9	11	Rubens Barrichello	30.800 
10	7	Ralf Schumacher		30.913 
11	8	Jarno Trulli		30.977 
12	3	Kimi Räikkönen		31.066 
13	9	Mark Webber		31.097 
14	16	Nick Heidfeld		31.122 
15	38	Robert Kubica		31.127 
16	6	Felipe Massa		31.132 
17	10	Nico Rosberg		31.163 
18	17	Jacques Villeneuve	31.200 
19	40	Neel Jani		31.259 
20	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	31.274 
21	39	Giorgio Mondini		31.320 
22	14	David Coulthard		31.372 
23	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	31.455 
24	19	Christijan Albers	31.496 
25	21	Scott Speed		31.624 
26	22	Takuma Sato		31.687 
27	18	Tiago Monteiro		32.195 
28	23	Franck Montagny		32.782

Code:

[b]Sector 3 [/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	37	Robert Doornbos		23.054 
2	1	Fernando Alonso		23.095 
3	36	Anthony Davidson	23.132 
4	7	Ralf Schumacher		23.169 
5	35	Alexander Wurz		23.173 
6	15	Christian Klien		23.193 
7	12	Jenson Button		23.293 
8	16	Nick Heidfeld		23.298 
9	5	Michael Schumacher	23.311 
10	8	Jarno Trulli		23.350 
11	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	23.395 
12	38	Robert Kubica		23.400 
13	9	Mark Webber		23.413 
14	11	Rubens Barrichello	23.434 
15	3	Kimi Räikkönen		23.472 
16	14	David Coulthard		23.550 
17	10	Nico Rosberg		23.563 
18	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	23.569 
19	17	Jacques Villeneuve	23.608 
20	6	Felipe Massa		23.637 
21	40	Neel Jani		23.779 
22	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	23.848 
23	39	Giorgio Mondini		23.865 
24	21	Scott Speed		23.905 
25	19	Christijan Albers	24.026 
26	18	Tiago Monteiro		24.102 
27	22	Takuma Sato		24.122 
28	23	Franck Montagny		24.293

Speed Trap

Code:

[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time		Speed[/b]
1	5	Michael Schumacher	14:57:18	311.6 
2	38	Robert Kubica		14:34:37	307.5 
3	6	Felipe Massa		14:35:11	307.5 
4	17	Jacques Villeneuve	14:21:00	305.9 
5	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	14:54:41	304.3 
6	12	Jenson Button		14:54:33	304.1 
7	3	Kimi Räikkönen		14:56:51	303.9 
8	35	Alexander Wurz		14:16:49	302.7 
9	10	Nico Rosberg		14:56:06	302.2 
10	9	Mark Webber		14:36:24	301.9 
11	36	Anthony Davidson	14:03:02	301.5 
12	11	Rubens Barrichello	14:38:24	301.0 
13	37	Robert Doornbos		14:11:07	300.8 
14	14	David Coulthard		14:54:31	300.6 
15	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	14:49:09	300.4 
16	40	Neel Jani		14:24:37	300.0 
17	1	Fernando Alonso		14:52:43	299.9 
18	21	Scott Speed		14:33:36	299.0 
19	7	Ralf Schumacher		14:47:45	298.5 
20	16	Nick Heidfeld		14:41:43	298.1 
21	15	Christian Klien		14:57:34	298.0 
22	8	Jarno Trulli		14:33:43	296.9 
23	39	Giorgio Mondini		14:55:50	295.4 
24	23	Franck Montagny		14:20:16	294.9 
25	22	Takuma Sato		14:35:59	294.7 
26	18	Tiago Monteiro		14:33:05	294.3 
27	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	14:55:30	293.7 
28	19	Christijan Albers	14:56:04	290.5

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 19:25

rpstewart said:
Looks like MS has wound the wings down today

The wings do that for themselves.

Simon/~Flibster

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 19:28

Spanish GP: Friday notes - WilliamsF1

Sam Michael, Technical Director, WilliamsF1: "We had a productive day today in terms of working on set-up and tyre choice. The decision between the tyres will be difficult once again, which is a good sign because it means Bridgestone have brought two good tyres that have different characteristics, so we will look through the data tonight to see which will be best for the race here. On Alex's car, we perhaps went in the wrong direction on set-up this afternoon and although his long run pace was good, he would have looked even stronger. We had no other issues from a mechanical point of view and Mark and Nico managed some long runs, in fact Nico was on track for most of the session which will help with his preparation for qualifying tomorrow."

Alex Wurz: "We lost a bit of time in the morning session because it was wet, but in the end we managed to get through all our programme and concluded our tyre comparison. Now we have to sit down and analyse the data and decide how we want to play our strategy. We covered everything, so we have collected sufficient information, but nevertheless the tyre choice won't be easy as all options are open to us at the moment."

Nico Rosberg: "The track was quite different today from the last time we were here testing. As I didn't do any running in this morning's session when the track was much quicker, the car felt a bit strange at the beginning of the second session. After a few laps, when I got used to the track conditions and we had made some adjustments, I felt quite comfortable in the car. Towards the end of the afternoon we found a good pace, so all in all I am happy. It's been a productive day and I have also learned a couple of useful things for tomorrow and Sunday."

Mark Webber: "We got through our programme today and although we do plenty of mileage here in testing, it is still worth doing set-up work and we have produced some good information for tonight. The tyres seem to be working well and together with all the data we have, we will work on developing a good balance for the car for tomorrow."

Sean O'Mahony, Principal Engineer - F1 Race Engineering, Cosworth Ltd: "Both Mark and Nico carried over their 4 series engines from the Nurburgring for this event. Because we test here quite a lot we were not expecting any big driveability surprises. However the 4 series does have a different torque characteristic from our previous 2 and 3 series units. Happily the drivers didn't flag up any 4 series gremlins and the running was largely problem free from the engine side."

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 19:29

Spanish GP: Friday notes - Renault

The Renault F1 Team today completed a trouble-free opening day of practice at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya, ahead of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

Already in 2006, the trend has been for each team's race drivers to run relatively little on Friday in order to economise engine mileage. At a circuit such as Barcelona, where every team completes thousands of kilometres of testing mileage during the winter, this was even more the case. At Renault, the objective was to evaluate the two types of Michelin tyre available this weekend, as Barcelona is a particularly hard circuit for the tyres owing to the numerous high-speed corners in its layout. This was completed without any particular problems, and the team will now set to work analysing the results of the tests in order to make the best choice for tomorrow's qualifying session but, most importantly, Sunday's race.

Fernando Alonso: It was fantastic to start running today in Barcelona. After months of testing here with empty grandstands, I think all the drivers will have enjoyed driving in front of some spectators, not just me! But I don't think that the Friday at any other circuit has the same level of emotion as we saw from the fans today, it was wonderful to see them all around the circuit. In terms of our programme, it was all OK. We checked the tyres and didn't have any big problems, because the results were quite similar to the test. I am looking forward to qualifying and the race, and I hope I can give the fans something to enjoy!

Giancarlo Fisichella: Today wasn't perfect for us and I think we still have quite a lot of room for improvement. At the moment, the car does not feel fantastic. Compared to the test, the track is very slippery and the grip is quite low. The balance of the car was pretty good, but we need to improve the grip level of the car for tomorrow.

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: We took a slightly different approach to our programme today. Barcelona may be a circuit at which we conduct a significant proportion of our testing programme, but it is also a track at which tyre choice is critical. This is because of the circuit's severity on the tyres, as there are many long, high-speed corners. We therefore completed some longer runs this afternoon to assess the tyre performance, and we are very pleased with the results.

Denis Chevrier, Head of Trackside Engine Operations: This is a circuit which changes a lot during the day, and this morning's rain shower added a further unknown factor to the mix before we began running. Indeed, this was primarily a day for assessing and fine-tuning chassis performance. From an engine point of view, Barcelona is a circuit we know very well, and at which we have already tested with the B-specification engine. As such, we ran through our normal checks on Fernando's race-old engine, and Giancarlo's new one. Everything ran smoothly and we collected plenty of useful data.

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 19:29

Spanish GP: Friday notes - Toyota

Panasonic Toyota Racing today began its preparations for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix on the outskirts of the city of Barcelona. All the drivers know the Circuit de Catalunya better than any other track after hours and hours of pounding round during tests in all conditions throughout the year. The rain in Spain fell mainly in the morning today, meaning the first practice session began on a damp track and most drivers opted to remain in the garage. Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher both had busier afternoons, successfully completing their programmes of tyre comparison and set-up fine-tuning with over 50 laps between them. They will now look to continue that progress as Toyota seeks a strong result on Sunday. This weekend's event is a sell-out, with 330,000 people expected to attend over the course of the three days.

Ralf Schumacher: "Today was a pretty painless start to the weekend. The car felt okay, we had no problems and we made it through our tyre programme. I haven't had many good results in Barcelona in the past, but I do like the track. It is a difficult circuit to drive and a very good test for car performance. Our car is well balanced and we have good race pace so we will hope to perform well over the rest of the weekend. The whole team has high expectations but we could certainly do with some points for both the drivers' and the constructors' championships. We narrowly missed out last week and we have to keep pushing for more on Sunday."

Jarno Trulli: "I struggled for performance during the race at the European Grand Prix last week but now we have understood what happened and found some issues we had with the set-up. So we hope to avoid a repeat of the problem and I'm sure that we can do better here. We were quite competitive at the last test that we had at this circuit. The conditions are likely to be different this weekend but nevertheless I am confident. Today was a normal Friday of tyre comparisons. We had some graining so we still have a bit of work to do. But if everything goes well during the weekend then I'm sure that we can claim a good result. I've made the podium here in the last two years so I'm definitely confident heading into Sunday."

Dieter Gass – Chief Engineer Race and Test: "Overall that was a positive Friday for us. We made it through a lot of work and we had no problems with our cars which ran reliably throughout. It was pointless to do any running in the first session because the early shower left the track too green so we just did installation laps. The track was still slippery at the start of the second session but it improved a lot as the hour went on. We had a busy time with both drivers, collecting some valuable information on our tyres. That means we have all the data we need for the choice tomorrow. There is still work to be done on the set-up but this is a good starting point for the weekend."

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 19:32

Spanish GP: Friday notes - Red Bull

David Coulthard: We had a few things we wanted to check on the car today, so we didn't really follow our normal Friday test programme. We do a lot of laps in testing here though, so we should be okay.

Christian Klien: I only did an installation lap this morning, but I was happy with the car's balance straight away. It was a pretty positive Friday for us, as there were only test drivers and Alonso ahead of me so it's quite good, quite promising. But, that said, we have to wait to see what we can do for the rest of the weekend. It's only Friday and things often get shuffled up on Saturday.

Robert Doornbos: That was good. I've never driven here in the wet before, so I was surprised to see it raining this morning. It dried out pretty quick though, which meant we were able to do our job. We did two long runs this afternoon, the second of which was very consistent and quick. I made a 180 spin at one point and the marshals helped me back onto the track – so thanks to them for that!

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 19:33

Spanish GP: Friday notes - Toro Rosso

Neel Jani: As usual I did a lot of laps, running pretty much a race simulation all day long in both sessions, mainly tyre work. We tried to do the best in the limited time. We also found out some interesting things in terms of set-up, but I think finding the right tyre will be very interesting! I'm pleased with my lap time.

Scott Speed: We didn't do much running, so it's actually quite hard to know exactly where we are here. As we expected we are definitely losing out to the others in performance terms here with the very long straight. But generally the car is working quite well, no problems in the fast turns, but the hardest thing to sort out now will be the right choice between the two tyres.

Tonio Liuzzi: I hardly did any laps this morning, but I am pretty happy about the performance and the balance of the car. We struggled a bit with the tyres as this track is very demanding on them. The race set-up looks quite good but we still have some work to do on it.

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 19:33

Spanish GP: Friday notes - Midland

Tiago Monteiro: "It was short day for me. Obviously, we didn't run in the morning because of the track conditions. This afternoon, we restricted ourselves to running on the same tyre to evaluate different electronic settings - traction control, anti-lock braking, that kind of thing - and we realised that we have an understeer issue, which I'm really struggling with at the moment, so we need to work on that. To be fair, all the work we've done on the electronic side has drastically changed the handling characteristics of the car since last week, which should be for the better. It's just that now we need to understand how to set the car up for that. So I'm going to work hard with the engineers tonight to get it sorted for tomorrow. Overall, though, I think it's a positive point that we discovered the extra potential to be gained from the electronics."

Christijan Albers: "It's going to be a long night, because we are further off than we expected. So we need to work really hard to get on the pace for tomorrow. We need to find out why the speed is not there. Everyone here is doing a good job, and I'm confident we'll get it solved, but that doesn't mean we are happy, because we clearly need to improve. The lap time is just not good enough right now, and we've got to get that worked out for tomorrow."

Giorgio Mondini: "I'm very thankful to all my mechanics and engineers - they are really good, and today they demonstrated why they are at the top level of racing. We had some problems with the car in the morning and we lost some time trying to find out what it was, but more importantly, they solved the problem and made the car much quicker in the process. It's always a shame to miss out on track time, but I'm happy to sacrifice it if it makes the car better. We only used five sets of tyres out of the seven, and obviously we could have gone quicker if we'd had the time to use them all. We're moving in the right direction, and with a little bit of work, I think Tiago and Christijan should be able to go in the low one-seventeens in qualifying tomorrow."

James Key, Technical Director: "Not the easiest of free practice days, to be honest. We had just a general lack of grip, which we'll try and solve for tomorrow. At least we're pretty set on which tyre we're going to use, and to be fair, Giorgio, with his longer runs, showed that the tyre is going to be a pretty good race tyre. It's just a new tyre that we've got to get sorted out now. I think all three drivers suffered from the same problem - it's pretty clear what it is - and we've got to work tonight on solving it for tomorrow."

Dominic Harlow, Chief Race and Test Engineer: "Tricky conditions today, given the showers in the morning and having to wait for the track to dry. In the morning, we had a slightly condensed programme. In the afternoon, we were struggling a bit with the track and the wind, which resulted in low grip and a bit of understeering. But we'll start to sort it out tonight, and we should be appreciably better in qualifying tomorrow."

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 19:34

Spanish GP: Friday notes - McLaren

Team McLaren Mercedes drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya finished today's second free practice session in 15th and 18th position respectively. As planned, Kimi did not complete a lap in the first session this morning, whilst Juan Pablo left the Team McLaren Mercedes garage for one installation lap. In the second session Kimi completed four and Juan Pablo five laps.

Kimi Raikkonen: "Following my regular meeting with the engineers yesterday we decided that it would not be necessary to run in the first session this morning. I was scheduled to complete two timed laps this afternoon which I did. So an easy and trouble-free start to the weekend."

Juan Pablo Montoya: "I merely did an installation lap with my new engine this morning and then a short run this afternoon to evaluate our options for the weekend. My left mirror came loose and I had to pull it off, but no problem. So far so good, and I look forward to the rest of the weekend."

Ron Dennis: "The Barcelona circuit is well known to the team and drivers from testing and as a result our pre-planned programme was very limited today. We achieved everything that we intended and look forward to tomorrow's practice where we will do more running."

Norbert Haug: "As planned we ran the minimum programme. After having saved engine life and tyres today we will learn more tomorrow."

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 19:35

Spanish GP: Friday notes - Super Aguri

Super Aguri drivers Takuma Sato and Franck Montagny experienced contrasting days in terms of running time and car performance for the start of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend today. The weather played an important role as a wet and cloudy morning caused the dusty track to become greasy, whilst the afternoon brought the sunshine and very different track surface conditions.

Takuma Sato: We did not do much running this morning due to the weather conditions, but towards the end of that session and by the end of the second session we had completed our full programme. We did some performance runs and it was encouraging to see that the balance of the car has improved and that the lap time and speed was much better, so we are happy with what we have been able to achieve today.

Franck Montagny: It was a very difficult day for me. This morning I completed only three laps because we had a hydraulic problem. This afternoon we did not find a good set-up for the car; it was very difficult to control, a lot of snap oversteer and many more issues. I do believe that we will find something right as Taku is fast here, but I think that we have a hard weekend coming.

Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal: We haven't been lucky since we came back to Europe but we need to solve the problem as soon as we can. The team has been working so hard to improve the speed of the car and the motivation within the team is amazingly high. I am little concerned about the problems we have been having, but I am sure that we will be able to solve these issues come the race on Sunday.

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 19:35

Spanish GP: Friday notes - Ferrari

Jean Todt: It's always the same on Friday, a day dedicated mainly to the comparison between the two types of tyre that Bridgestone has put at our disposal. From what we could see, the Japanese firm has done a good job, which should allow us to be competitive for the rest of the weekend. Even though both drivers had run here a few weeks ago, we worked on fine tuning the set-up of the car, adapting it to the current track conditions. We got a lot of interesting data which is now being studied by the engineers before making the tyre choice and deciding on settings.

Michael Schumacher: I am very happy with the work we have done today, centred on the Bridgestone tyres and on adapting the 248 F1 to the track conditions. Compared with the last time we were here we have a few updates on the car and steps forward with the tyres. I think we can be competitive, even though we have yet to go into detail on the data. There are a lot of factors to consider. Looking at the times this morning we were quick and the good thing is that this afternoon, over a longer distance we were both quick and consistent, so the situation looks pretty good.

Felipe Massa: This weekend has got off on the right foot. The day went very well and we worked almost exclusively on the Bridgestone tyres, obviously looking towards the race. Michael and I split the work load, using different types of tyre. Today I was not trying to do a time but just wanted to understand how the tyres performed over a long run. I am very satisfied with the 248 F1 and what we achieved today.

Ross Brawn: It was a good day and both drivers did a good job, getting through everything on their programmes. We got a whole heap of data, also doing some quite long runs on both types of Bridgestone tyre we have here. The balance of the cars seems quite good and the engineers only made minor adjustments.

Flibster · 12 May 2006 at 19:35

Spanish GP: Friday notes - BMW

It was a trouble-free first practice day in Spain for all three BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers. As usual Robert Kubica had a heavy work load and completed 55 laps, while Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve got used to the Barcelona track and its changing conditions, which saw rain in the morning and bright sunshine in the afternoon.

Nick Heidfeld: We had a trouble free day with everything running smoothly, and my work included the tyre comparisons.

Robert Kubica: In the morning the track was wet, so we had to wait for it to dry and there was no grip. We concentrated on tyre testing, and this went pretty well. We need to be sure of the right decisions for the race and we have come to some conclusions, so that is important. In the second free practice the track had a lot of rubber so I got a lot of understeer, but I had to complete my programme so could not adjust the car. Obvioulsy the more rubber that is laid down the better the track will get, and so tomorrow it should be pretty good.

Jacques Villeneuve: It is very windy so the track is very different to when we were here testing, and as well as that it is a lot hotter. I did a couple of runs. One was with high fuel for the race, as I am going to have to start from the back, so I have been concentrating on that. This is not a good overtaking track so it will be tough to move to the front.

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): We completed our scheduled programme without any problems, and from the information have been able to base the decisions for our tyre choice and car set up. Today we witnessed Barcelona's well known characteristic of conditions that change quite often and at short notice. This affects the temperatures, rubber on the track and the wind.

Willy Rampf (Technical Director Chassis): We are satisfied with our lap times and performance and had no mechanical problems. Our programme contained tyre comparison and race preparation work. It was quite a varied programme despite the fact all the teams test here quite a lot. We have to do this because the track changes frequently during the day. We now have a lot of data to check, but I think we are well prepared for the weekend.