Massa ends Silverstone test on top

The week's testing at Silverstone came to a close on June 21st and Ferrari's Felipe Massa was the fastest man of the 10 drivers at work. The Brazilian clocked 1:20.805 and concluded the team's programme of aerodynamic and mechanical development. Test driver Luca Badoer will shake down the cars for France at Fiorano next week.

Felipe Massa, Scuderia Ferrari, F2007.

Photo by xpb.cc.

Second fastest was the Williams of Nico Rosberg, just over four and a half tenths down on Massa. The team spent the week working on a new aerodynamic package and also mechanical components in preparation for the French and British Grands Prix. "We've had a very positive three days here, working through a busy test schedule with no major problems," said test team manager Dickie Stanford.

Fernando Alonso was on duty for McLaren and was third on the time sheet. His day was hampered by an oil system problem in the morning and rain showers at lunchtime but he managed 58 laps of aero development, tyres and set up. "This week has seen us intensively testing the MP4-22 package, with work concentrating on aerodynamic improvements and brake material testing," said CEO Martin Whitmarsh.

"Despite some inconvenient interruptions over the course of the three days -- mainly due to weather, we feel confident that we have achieved a good understanding of where we are in our preparations for the next set of back-to-back races in France and Britain, and despite being unable to complete the entire programme, the work we have done has been very effective at this crucial stage of the Championship."

Renault had test driver Nelson A. Piquet on track and he was fourth fastest. He assessed tyres for consistency and performance and completed over 100 laps. "I was really pleased to be driving today, because I really enjoy this circuit and I have always felt good here," he said. "We made good progress with our programme, and collected interesting data which confirms Heikki's work earlier in the week. That's a positive sign."

After two days at the top of the times Toyota had to be content with fifth on this last day. Jarno Trulli worked on tyres, systems and suspension and was overall fairly satisfied with the way things went. "We've been reasonably quick here over the last three days but all that matters is what you can achieve at the races," he commented.

"So far the season hasn't gone as well as we'd hoped but we will continue to push to get the best out of the package in the next few weeks. I'm looking forward to coming to race at Silverstone because I believe that we should perform well here. But we still have three weeks to go and anything can change before then, including the weather."

David Coulthard was in the cockpit for Red Bull and was sixth quickest. The Scot had a busy day trying to make up for lost time earlier in the week, caused by poor weather and technical problems, and assessed the new aerodynamic package and suspension. He completed 69 laps and the team said it had found solutions to most of the problems encountered.

Tester Timo Glock ended BMW Sauber's week with seventh on the list and completed the team's programme thanks to better weather than expected. Much the same as everyone else, Glock focused on tyres, aerodynamics and suspension -- the team described the test, which was mainly in preparation for the British GP, as very positive.

Tonio Liuzzi was behind the wheel for Toro Rosso on the first two days and on Thursday Scott Speed took over and was eighth fastest. His day was shortened by a powertrain failure but generally he worked on tyres and set up. "We did our homework on various solutions; some paid off and some didn't," said technical director, Giorgio Ascanelli.

"Until this afternoon, general reliability seems good, as we managed to put the equivalent of three race distances on the same quick-shift gearbox. And in performance terms, it seems better too. So to sum up, these three days have allowed us to sign off new steering and suspension components and the quick shift box for the French Grand Prix."

Spyker had two drivers sharing a chassis, Christijan Albers ninth and tester Giedo van der Garde rounding off the times in 10th. It was a disrupted day as Albers had an electrical problem, then van der Garde only managed five laps before spinning into the gravel. Front suspension damage meant a delay before Albers could go back out again.

"I was very happy with the progress, but the afternoon was disappointing as we lost time some time with the electrical problem where couldn't go full throttle and that compromised the lap time slightly today," said Albers. "Then Giedo went off, which was a shame as I couldn't do some runs with new tyres to try and attack this time. I think there would easily be a quicker time in the car."

Over at Jerez, Honda and Super Aguri wrapped up their sessions for the week. Jenson Button was at work for Honda and clocked a best time of 1:19.621 from 122 laps while focusing on aero and mechanical parts. Anthony Davidson was on duty for Super Aguri; he worked on traction control and set up and posted a best time of 1:20.450 and completed 78 laps.

"We have had a good three days with the both drivers able to complete their workloads and, as always, we concentrated on 'quality not quantity' with the car running reliably," said Super Aguri sporting director Graham Taylor. "The lovely Spanish weather allowed for progress to be made with both the Honda power-train and Bridgestone Potenza tyres."