McLaren test driver Alex Wurz set the pace at the F1 test at Barcelona on Tuesday by breaking the lap record in last year’s car. David Coulthard, in the new MP4-17, was a full second off the pace.
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McLaren test driver Alex Wurz set the pace at the F1 test at Barcelona on Tuesday by breaking the lap record in last year’s car. David Coulthard, in the new MP4-17, was a full second off the pace.
But Coulthard, who will be the key player in McLaren’s onslaught on the 2002 world championship, was nevertheless satisfied with the performance of the MP4-17. Coulthard did not make it out onto the track until noon due to the mechanics changing a component on his car, but this was not enough to discourage the Scot.
“It was exactly as we expected,” said Coulthard. “I did some long runs and I’m happy with what I’ve found out so far. The lap times are getting better. I’m going back to the old car on Wednesday.”
Wurz, who did 98 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya, was in top form and eclipsed the lap record by 0,007 sec. The Austrian broke the 1:18,201 time set by reigning world champion Michael Schumacher in official practice for the Spanish Grand Prix on April 29 last year.
Nick Heidfeld continued to show the potential of his new Sauber C21, which was third quickest. The German’s best effort was just 0,096 sec shy of Coulthard’s time.
“We managed to do many laps although we did not run in the afternoon, the car felt even better than it did yesterday,” Formula1.com quoted Heidfeld as saying. “We made some adjustment to the car and it was very good. After two days of testing I am very happy, like I said yesterday I can change direction a lot better with this car. The lap time is quite good.
“We made more adjustments on the aero side, we did a little mechanically but more on aero side today. Because there are only a few cars here I really can’t judge where we are. But it feels very good and so far the set-up we have found and the balance of the car I am very happy with, but we can find more things,” the German added.
Meanwhile, Jaguar Racing has decided to postpone its planned test in Barcelona this week in order to conduct straight line testing at Lurcy Levis, France. Niki Lauda’s team are apparently experiencing problems with the front end of the 2002-spec R3.
“We need to understand the problem we are experiencing on the front wing section of the Jaguar R3,” a team official said. “Instead, we are conducting a straight-line programme with last year’s R2 and this year’s R3.
“We are not undertaking dramatic revisions to the R3. If anything, we started our testing programme on January 8 in the knowledge that the Jaguar R3 would undergo wind-tunnel development until the first race in Melbourne.
“We are, therefore, expecting several new additions to the package and until we have run everything, there is little point in people jumping to conclusions about how competitive the R3 may or may not be,” Formula1.com quoted the official as saying.
Barcelona test, day two times (unofficial)
1 Alexander Wurz McLaren-Mercedes 1m18,194s 98 laps
2 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1m19,194s 63 laps
3 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 1m19,290s 54 laps
