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Villeneuve fastest at Monza test

The second day of testing at Monza was a busy affair, with 14 drivers from seven teams at work on the Italian track. BMW Sauber put in a strong showing with Jacques Villeneuve fastest, 1:23.381, and teammate Nick Heidfeld third on the time ...

The second day of testing at Monza was a busy affair, with 14 drivers from seven teams at work on the Italian track. BMW Sauber put in a strong showing with Jacques Villeneuve fastest, 1:23.381, and teammate Nick Heidfeld third on the time sheet.

Jacques Villeneuve.
Photo by xpb.cc.

Villeneuve worked on set up, engine cooling and aerodynamics in the morning then switched to tyres for Indianapolis in the afternoon. Heidfeld also worked on tyres and was delayed slightly by a mechanical failure before lunch. In the afternoon he practiced starts and evaluated electronic systems.

In between the two BMWs was the Williams of Nico Rosberg, half a tenth off Villeneuve, and team tester Alex Wurz was eighth quickest. "We tested several different geometries on the front suspension to start with and later on we undertook some tests of different front tyre constructions on Nico's car," said test team manager Mike Condliffe.

"In the afternoon we made several setup comparisons on Nico's car, while Alex started on rear tyre construction analysis in the morning and completed work on rear wing comparisons in the afternoon, together with some tests of modified exhausts,"

The Renaults of Giancarlo Fisichella and test driver Heikki Kovalainen were fourth and fifth respectively. "Giancarlo worked on control systems development for circuits like Monza, and continued set-up testing for Canada," said chief test engineer Christian Silk. "Heikki once again worked on acclimatising himself to the circuit, and then focused on long-runs for tyre development in the afternoon."

Honda tester Anthony Davidson was sixth fastest and Jenson Button was seventh. They worked through an aerodynamics programme for Montreal and Indianapolis and followed up in the afternoon with the focus on tyres for Indy. Rubens Barrichello is scheduled to join Button on Thursday.

Ninth on the list was the Toro Rosso of Scott Speed, while teammate Tonio Liuzzi rounded off the times in 14th but in the cockpit of a Red Bull. The team's tester Robert Doornbos was feeling unwell and only completed 14 laps, so Liuzzi took over. David Coulthard was 10th fastest for Red Bull and the Toyotas of Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher were 11th and 12th respectively.

Two teams were in action at the Paul Ricard HTTT in France, using the 1E SC short layout. Ferrari's Felipe Massa led the way with a best time of 1:24.027 and Scuderia tester Luca Badoer was second, half a second off. Tyres were their focus, as well as aero development for Massa and electronic and mechanical components for Badoer.

McLaren had test driver Gary Paffett third fastest and Kimi Raikkonen was fourth. They worked on set up and aerodynamic development for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix as well as tyres for the following race at Indianapolis. The duo is scheduled to continue on Thursday.

MF1 continued its three-day test at Silverstone with Tiago Monteiro and tester Giorgio Mondini sharing the driving duties. Once the weather improved they worked on tyres and set up. Monteiro was the quicker of the two with a time of 1:22.940.

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