Silverstone testing 2002-09-18

Testing resumed after the Italian Grand Prix with sessions at various venues around Europe. The teams Renault, Jordan and Sauber travelled to Silverstone for three days of testing at the home of the British Grand Prix. The session was very technical with a lot of work being done to the cars during the long gaps between short runs of laps.

Renault ran with the full compliment of two cars - Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso started the session, although Button had to retire due to illness during the lunch break. Oliver Gavin was called up to replace him. The mechanics did a lot of work to the engines of the two cars and the drivers often accelerated and backed off in unusual places. Alonso backed off the power along the pit-straight on a few occasions and Gavin did several laps consisting of just short bursts of acceleration.

The Renault mechanics cheered as Gavin crossed the line for the first time, as he usually conducts straight-line testing for the team and rarely gets the opportunity to complete a lap. Gavin had already been in attendance for the team over the two days of the test so far.

Alonso suffered a gearbox problem midway through the afternoon which caused the car to coast to a halt at Copse corner. The car was taken back to the garage and neither it nor Alonso were seem on track for the rest of the day.

Jordan ran one car driven by race driver Giancarlo Fisichella. The team was hampered by brake sensor problems early in the day but these were soon ironed out to allow Fisichella to do several stints. He was pushing noticeably hard around the circuit as if to simulate qualifying runs.

Sauber tested with Nick Heidfeld at the wheel on the second day of their intensive test session. The team was also hampered by brake problems, on this occasion affecting the left-front brake disc. After a lot of work by the mechanics and a few loud bangs, Heidfeld was sent back out on track.

The Swiss team fixed the problem with their timing system that caused the loss of their own recorded intermediate times yesterday. However all teams record the times of all drivers and make this data available to each other. The team tested their new sensors by speeding a road car fitted with a transmitter up and down the pit straight.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen is scheduled to test for Sauber tomorrow with a view to replacing Felipe Massa for the United States Grand Prix.