TEST REPORT BARCELONA - DAY FOUR
Date: Thursday 26th January 2006
Location: Circuit de Catalunya, Spain
Drivers: Kimi Raikkonen and Pedro de la Rosa
Weather: Cold and sunny
Track temperature – high of 13.9 degrees Celsius
Air temperature – high of 13.0 degrees Celsius
Laps run: 112
Kilometres covered: Kimi Raikkonen approx. 305km
Pedro de la Rosa approx. 220km
Best lap time of the day: Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1m15.969
Duration of test: Five days (23rd – 27th January)
Kimi Raikkonen was at the wheel of the Team McLaren Mercedes
2006 challenger, the MP4-21, for the first time today at the
Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona.
Kimi's debut with the car was the fourth day of running with
the MP4-21, and the Finn added over 300km to the car as he
completed 65 laps at the Spanish circuit. His quickest time
of the day, a 1m17.739, put Kimi in twelfth place on the timesheets.
The cold and foggy weather conditions continued, with track
temperatures not reaching above zero until after 09:00, and
as a result following an installation lap shortly after 09:00
the Finn spent just under two hours in the garage before returning
to the track at 10:52. Following another short run of 4 laps,
Kimi began more longer stints. A minor oil leak in the gearbox
was detected early afternoon, which was repaired by the test
team and Kimi returned to the track to continue his programme.
Pedro de la Rosa returned to testing duties at the Circuit
de Catalunya, following his shakedown with MP4-21 on Monday
of this week. Pedro was driving the interim MP4-20, and his
work continued to focus on Michelin tyre evaluation. He covered
47 laps and 220km during the day, setting a time of 1m18.256.
During the course of the afternoon, the engine in Pedro's
car was changed, as it had reached the end of its lifecycle.
KIMI RAIKKONEN
"It is really good to be back testing and it is great
to see what the team have done with the new car. Because it
was my first day in the MP4-21, most of the time was spent
with me getting used to it and then starting to look at different
set-ups. My first impression of the car is positive, but I
will need more track time to find out how great the potential
really is. Also we could not run all morning because of the
cold weather, but even so we put in a good number of laps
and drove over 300km."
Kimi and Pedro will continue at the Circuit de Catalunya
tomorrow, the final day of the test in Barcelona for the team.
Unofficial times*:
Pos Driver Constructor Time Laps
1 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m15.969 73
2 Rubens Barrichello Honda Racing 1m16.274 109
3 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1m16.360 67
4 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1m16.550 91
5 Jenson Button Honda Racing 1m16.560 70
6 Fernando Alonso Renault 1m16.740 82
7 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 1m16.885 42
8 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1m16.904 80
9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m17.250 88
10 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1m17.504 71
11 Tonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso 1m17.590 93
12 Kimi Raikkonen Team McLaren Mercedes 1m17.739 65
13 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1m17.993 93
14 Pedro de la Rosa Team McLaren Mercedes – V10 1m18.256
47
*no official times available
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