TEST REPORT – PAUL RICARD – WEEKLY SUMMARY
Date: Friday 24th March 2006
Location: Paul Ricard HTTT, Le Castellet, France
Drivers: Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett
Weather: Damp and windy in the morning, drying during the
day
Track temperature – high of 22.7 degrees Celsius
Air temperature – high of 12.8 degrees Celsius
Laps run: 159
Kilometres covered: Pedro de la Rosa – MP4-21 –
approx. 370km
Gary Paffett – MP4-20 – approx. 230km
Total kilometres covered during the test: 3287
Pedro de la Rosa – MP4-21 – approx. 2,207km
Gary Paffett – MP4-20 – approx. 1,080km
Best lap time of the day: Heikki Kovalainen, Renault, 1m05.287
Best lap time of the week: Heikki Kovalainen, Renault, 1m04.400
Duration of test: Four days (21st – 24th March)
Team McLaren Mercedes concluded an intensive four day test
at the Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track today, in a session
affected by damp conditions.
Running for Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett did not get
underway until after the lunch break at the French track,
with Pedro taking to the track at 13:07 and Gary four minutes
later, as the overnight rain that had left the track wet began
to dry out.
The focus for Pedro was chassis developments for the MP4-21,
with Gary working alongside Pedro on the same programme at
the wheel of the interim MP4-20. Pedro covered 370km over
98 laps and set a fastest time of 1m05.381, which put him
second on the timesheets. Gary completed 61 laps and 230km
as he put in a time of 1m05.709.
The test began for the team on Tuesday, which was also affected
by bad weather. Heavy rain overnight and continuous drizzle
during the day made track conditions difficult. The team took
the decision that Gary would take not part in the day, as
his focus was on Michelin development work and the wet circuit
would not have provided any meaningful feedback.
Pedro was conducting a shakedown with the fourth chassis
of the MP4-21, and was able to complete the initial systems
checks over a few short runs in the morning before covering
more significant mileage during the afternoon on intermediate
tyres. This saw the Spaniard put in 637km over 155 laps of
the track, which was in the 4.11km 2E SC configuration.
From Wednesday onwards the track layout changed to the 3.8km
3E SC, and the weather for the Wednesday and Thursday was
dry and bright. This allowed both Pedro and Gary to complete
long distances as they concluded the tyre selection process
for the San Marino Grand Prix with Michelin during the two
days. This saw both drivers complete series of short and long
runs to evaluate the different compounds. Pedro's morning
session ended with six one-lappers as the Spaniard simulated
qualifying on the different Michelins as part of the programme.
At the end of play on Thursday, Pedro's running for the week
saw him reach a total of 1,837km over three consecutive days
using one Mercedes-Benz V8 engine for the whole distance.
His engine was changed at the end of the day, to allow the
unit to return to Brixworth.
PEDRO DE LA ROSA
"We have had a really positive test this week at Paul
Ricard, with reliable running on all four days. This has enabled
us to put significant mileage onto chassis 4 of MP4-21 and
the Mercedes-Benz V8 engine, as we worked through the various
development programmes with the car. There have been a few
problems with the weather on Tuesday and this morning, but
it did not affect my programme too badly, as I was able to
continue putting in the miles. My total kilometres for the
week is 2,207, and I was able to complete two Grands Prix
distances on each of the first three days."
GARY PAFFETT
"It was good to get back to testing this week at Ricard,
obviously it was a shame that I was not able to get on track
on Tuesday, but my programme with Michelin was focused on
dry running, which was not possible due to the wet weather
conditions. We had a couple of positive days on Wednesday
and Thursday and completed the tyre selection process for
Imola. Today my focus was chassis development and we had some
strong running in the afternoon when the track dried out."
Unofficial times*:
Pos Driver Constructor Time Laps
1 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1m05.287 92
2 Pedro de la Rosa Team McLaren Mercedes 1m05.381 98
3 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1m05.626 192
4 Gary Paffett Team McLaren Mercedes – V10 1m05.709
61
5 Ricardo Zonta Toyota 1m06.949 139
6 Olivier Panis Toyota 1m07.851 110
*no official times available
The Team McLaren Mercedes test team will return to testing
action on Wednesday 5th – Friday 7th April back at the
Paul Ricard HTTT.
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