New McLaren continues to impress on day two
Wednesday June 02 2004
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All eyes were on McLaren's new MP4-19B when it had its first run on a dry track at Silverstone on Wednesday, and once again the results looked promising.
Although Kimi Raikkonen was a bit further down the timesheets than he had been on Tuesday, the Finn was still able to keep pace with the front runners. Raikkonen amassed 66 laps at the British circuit, clocking a best time of 1:18.454, which put him fourth for day two, 0.363 seconds behind P1 holder, Takuma Sato.
However, Raikkonen's day was not without hiccups. His track time was cut short when a brake problem with his MP4-19B took longer to fix than the team had expected.
Day two's quickest driver, Sato, also had problems, with his running being curtailed in the afternoon. The BAR driver completed only 67 laps after being sidelined with a transmission problem. But his 1:18.019, which he set during a short three-lap stint, was still quick enough to ensure he finished the day at the top of the timesheets.
Cristiano da Matta wasn't far behind, though. The Toyota driver's fastest time, also set during a three-lap run, was only 0.054 seconds slower than Sato's, while third placed Michael Schumacher was a further 0.142s back.
Schumacher only worked a half-day, handing over to Rubens Barrichello in the afternoon. The Ferrari team-mates both concentrated on tyre testing and set-up. Barrichello was fifth quickest, finishing ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya.
Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso were next on the timesheets, with the latter suffering an engine blowout. However, and rather strangely, Renault's chief test engineer Christian Silk declared at the close of play: "A very positive day for us, particularly on the engine side as we reached our targets with the engine evolutions planned for Canada."
Antonio Pizzonia and Christian Klien completed the top ten, with only Jordan's Giorgio Pantano and Nick Heidfeld slower.
Wednesday's Times:
01 Sato BAR 1:18.091 67
02 da Matta Toyota 1:18.148 124 laps
03 Schumacher Ferrari 1:18.290 76 laps
04 Raikkonen McLaren 1:18.454 66 laps
05 Barrichello Ferrari 1:18.509 34 laps
06 Montoya Williams 1:18.650 86 laps
07 Trulli Renault 1:19.090 126 laps
08 Alonso Renault 1:19.143 80 laps
09 Pizzonia Williams 1:19.292 43 laps
10 Klien Jaguar 1:20.557 104 laps
11 Pantano Jordan 1:21.104 85 laps
12 Heidfeld Jordan 1:21.411 59 laps
Wednesday June 02 2004
Email Us Chat Forum
Mail article Print article
All eyes were on McLaren's new MP4-19B when it had its first run on a dry track at Silverstone on Wednesday, and once again the results looked promising.
Although Kimi Raikkonen was a bit further down the timesheets than he had been on Tuesday, the Finn was still able to keep pace with the front runners. Raikkonen amassed 66 laps at the British circuit, clocking a best time of 1:18.454, which put him fourth for day two, 0.363 seconds behind P1 holder, Takuma Sato.
However, Raikkonen's day was not without hiccups. His track time was cut short when a brake problem with his MP4-19B took longer to fix than the team had expected.
Day two's quickest driver, Sato, also had problems, with his running being curtailed in the afternoon. The BAR driver completed only 67 laps after being sidelined with a transmission problem. But his 1:18.019, which he set during a short three-lap stint, was still quick enough to ensure he finished the day at the top of the timesheets.
Cristiano da Matta wasn't far behind, though. The Toyota driver's fastest time, also set during a three-lap run, was only 0.054 seconds slower than Sato's, while third placed Michael Schumacher was a further 0.142s back.
Schumacher only worked a half-day, handing over to Rubens Barrichello in the afternoon. The Ferrari team-mates both concentrated on tyre testing and set-up. Barrichello was fifth quickest, finishing ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya.
Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso were next on the timesheets, with the latter suffering an engine blowout. However, and rather strangely, Renault's chief test engineer Christian Silk declared at the close of play: "A very positive day for us, particularly on the engine side as we reached our targets with the engine evolutions planned for Canada."
Antonio Pizzonia and Christian Klien completed the top ten, with only Jordan's Giorgio Pantano and Nick Heidfeld slower.
Wednesday's Times:
01 Sato BAR 1:18.091 67
02 da Matta Toyota 1:18.148 124 laps
03 Schumacher Ferrari 1:18.290 76 laps
04 Raikkonen McLaren 1:18.454 66 laps
05 Barrichello Ferrari 1:18.509 34 laps
06 Montoya Williams 1:18.650 86 laps
07 Trulli Renault 1:19.090 126 laps
08 Alonso Renault 1:19.143 80 laps
09 Pizzonia Williams 1:19.292 43 laps
10 Klien Jaguar 1:20.557 104 laps
11 Pantano Jordan 1:21.104 85 laps
12 Heidfeld Jordan 1:21.411 59 laps