Sauber Barcelona test notes 2002-12-13

Team Sauber Petronas concluded its final test day of the 2002 season in Barcelona, at the Circuit de Catalunya today, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Nick Heidfeld.

Nick Heidfeld, completed 79 laps and set the best time of 1m19,272s while Heinz-Harald Frentzen drove 86 laps and recorded a best time of 1m18,079s.

Jacky Eeckelaert (Head of Vehicle Engineering):

"It was a good surprise today to see the blue sky in the morning and not to be a victim of the bad weather. We made up for the previous days and both drivers were able to get on with our program right away with a minimum of delay. Both ran first a tyre testing program on behalf of Bridgestone. We also had some times left to continue the 2003 development with new mechanical parts for Nick and finalize the damper development program that we began yesterday with Heinz-Harald Frentzen. It is always important in testing that the car is reliable. Sometimes even more when you are doing this type of work. We are particularly happy therefore that the Sauber Petronas C21 performed reliably for both drivers throughout the test."

Nick Heidfeld:

"We had a good positive day today although I finished the program a little bit earlier due to an oil leak which we could not fix immediately. However we have been able to achieve everything that we prepared in the program."

Heinz-Harald Frentzen:

"It's been an interesting day trying a number of different tyres and what I have learned gives me great optimism for the challenge Sauber Petronas and Bridgestone will be able to present next year."

-sauber-