A trio of Ferrari drivers inflicted the first psychological blow ahead of the 2004 F1 season by trouncing all four Williams-BMW testers in changeable weather conditions at Jerez on Thursday.
A trio of Ferrari drivers inflicted the first psychological blow ahead of the 2004 F1 season by trouncing all four Williams-BMW testers, in changeable weather conditions, at Jerez on Thursday.
Seasoned Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer set the pace and was more than half a second quicker than team-mate Felipe Massa. The third Scuderia test pilot, Luciano Burti, was fourth fastest – but Williams-BMW’s junior try-outs struggled. F1 offspring Nelson Piquet Jr and Nico Rosberg hardly covered themselves in glory and brought up the rear of a timesheet covered by nearly five seconds.
Bridgestone-shod Ferrari tested tyres and electronic systems on the F2003-GA and Williams-BMW, with four drivers present, tested most of the FW24’s systems. In addition to Rosberg and Piquet (who each had half a day’s running), Ralf Schumacher and Marc Gene were also at the Andalucian track.
“We finished the test with a wet day,” said Williams-BMW chief engineer Sam Michael said. “The session proved ideal for wet tyre and traction control work, which supplemented a busy and productive test. Nelson and Nico worked well with the team, as well as showing themselves to be technically competent.”
In spite of difficult, wet conditions in southern Spain, both Rosberg and Piquet were satisfied with their three-day experience at Williams. Each had a day and a half of running in total, but Piquet’s full day on Tuesday was the only dry day of the test.
Jordan-Ford test driver Jarek Janis outpaced both Williams youngsters on the second day of his trial and was ninth quickest. BAR-Honda’s two 2004 racers were also at at Jerez. Williams have concluded their test, but Ferrari will be back at the circuit today.
Day Three: Jerez testing
Pos Driver Car Time Laps
1 Luca Badoer (Ferrari) 1:25,439s
2 Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:26,059ss
3 Nick Heidfeld (Jordan-Ford) 1:26,581s
4 Luciano Burti (Ferrari) 1:26,666s
5 Jenson Button (BAR-Honda) 1:26,709s
6 Marc Gene (Williams-BMW) 1:26,957s
7 Ralf Schumacher (Willliams-BMW) 1:26,976s
8 Takuma Sato (BAR-Honda) 1:27,437s
9 Jarek Janis (Jordan-Ford) 1:28,030s
10 Nelson Piquet Jr (Williams-BMW) 1:28,640s
11 Nico Rosberg (Wiliams-BMW) 1:30,262s