TEST REPORT - PAUL RICARD – WEEKLY SUMMARY
Location: Paul Ricard HTTT, Le Castellet, France
Drivers: Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett
Weather: Sunny and warm
Track temperature – high of 31.0 degrees Celsius
Air temperature – high of 17.6 degrees Celsius
Laps run: 283
Kilometres covered: Pedro de la Rosa – MP4-21 –
approx. 450km
Gary Paffett – MP4-20 – approx. 620km
Best lap time of the day: Ricardo Zonta, Toyota, 1m04.157
Total kilometres covered during the test: 2,844
Pedro de la Rosa – MP4-21 –
approx. 1,416km
Gary Paffett – MP4-20 – approx.
1,428km
Best lap time of the week: Ricardo Zonta, Toyota, 1m04.157
(Friday)
Duration of test: Three days (5th – 7th April)
Testing came to a close at the Paul Ricard High Tech Test
Track today, with Team McLaren Mercedes having completed an
intensive three day session putting in over 2,825km in total.
The weather conditions all week were sunny and clear allowing
the test team to maximise running on the track, which was
in the 3E-SC (Short) configuration at 3.8km.
Today's eight hours of running in the south of France saw
Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett continue their programmes
for the week. Pedro, in the MP4-21, worked on front suspension,
dampers and set-up alongside Michelin tyre testing for San
Marino. Meanwhile Gary focused on additional Michelin development
in the interim MP4-20.
Pedro covered 450km today, over the course of 120 laps, and
put in the third quickest time of the day, with a 1m04.591.
Gary, who ended the day in fourth position on the timesheets
with a 1m04.899, completed 620kms.
The test began on Wednesday and following a couple of hours
in the garage as a result of a fuel pressure problem, Pedro
set about completing over 397km without any interruptions.
Thursday saw Pedro set the fastest time of the day, a 1m04.231,
and cover 561km. With today's running, Pedro's total kilometres
for the session has reached 1,416, as the team pushed forward
with the development programme of the MP4-21.
This saw the Spaniard complete his scheduled programme for
the week, with the V8 in his car covering over 1,400km, equating
to more than four race distances and more than the average
running of two race weekends.
Gary has also been completing significant mileage during
the week, putting in 1,420km in total over the three days,
as he continued the Michelin selection and development programme.
PEDRO DE LA ROSA
"This has been an intensive and productive three days
of testing at Paul Ricard. I have been working with the test
team on a range of development programmes with MP4-21, including
damper work for San Marino, front suspension and some more
general set-up work. We are continuing to make positive progress,
which we will carry over to next week when Kimi and Juan Pablo
will be testing at Barcelona before the return to racing at
Imola."
GARY PAFFETT
"My week has again been fully focused on Michelin development
work. With the mileage we have covered, we have been able
to complete a number of activities within the programme, including
the final stages of Imola selection. We used one engine since
I started the test and we did quite a few more miles than
you usually do over the course of two race weekends."
Unofficial times*:
Pos Driver Constructor Time Laps
1 Ricardo Zonta Toyota 1m04.157 156
2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1m04.258 160
3 Pedro de la Rosa Team McLaren Mercedes 1m04.591 120
4 Gary Paffett Team McLaren Mercedes 1m04.899 163
5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1m04.944 107
6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1m05.673 92
7 Olivier Panis Toyota 1m06.741 60
*no official times available
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