Jaguar Picks Austrian For Second Seat; McLaren First Team To Test 2004 Car
By Dan Knutson
indianapolismotorspeedway.com
Tuesday, December 2, 2003
Formula One teams have begun winter testing programs as they prepare for the 2004 season that includes the United States Grand Prix on June 20 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Testing was prohibited for six weeks after the 2003 season finale Oct. 12 in Japan. The first test sessions started Nov. 25, and testing is permitted until the Christmas break that begins in mid-December.
Michelin-shod teams West McLaren-Mercedes, Williams-BMW, Mild Seven Renault, Jaguar-Cosworth and Panasonic Toyota tested in Valencia, Spain. Bridgestone teams Ferrari, Sauber-Petronas and Lucky Strike BAR-Honda tested in Barcelona, Spain. Toyota also tested in France. It was the last test for BAR on Bridgestone tires, as the team since has switched to Michelin.
Jaguar Racing tested with Townsend Bell, 28, of the United States, Christian Klien, 20, of Austria, and Justin Wilson, 25, of Great Britain. Klien, who raced in the Euro Formula 3 series in 2003, subsequently has been signed as Mark Webber's teammate at the Ford-owned Jaguar team for 2004, replacing Wilson.
"Christian was in as much control of himself as he was the car," Jaguar Racing Managing Director David Pitchforth said. "He was extremely calm, composed and didn't seem remotely fazed by his first ever experience with a Formula One car.
"His technical feedback was excellent, and there is no doubt in our minds about the potential of this exciting new young talent. He worked very well with the race engineers and demonstrated increasing speed as he became familiar with the car. Christian's professionalism and brain bandwidth are also very impressive, and combined with his application, our decision to employ him as a race driver was based on merit, potential and speed."
Klien will begin testing with the team immediately.
"Knowing that I am a Jaguar F1 driver has made me the happiest man on earth," Klien said. "I have worked tirelessly over the years to get to this point, but I appreciate also that the real hard work for me starts now. I am indebted to Jaguar Racing for giving me an opportunity to prove my worth, and I intend repaying Jaguar through hard work, commitment and ultimately, results on the racetrack."
Wilson drove for Jaguar in the final five races of the 2003 season. He scored the first point of his F1 career when he finished eighth in the United States Grand Prix on Sept. 28.
"I cannot thank Justin enough for his hard work and commitment since joining us after the British Grand Prix," Pitchforth said. "Justin's speed, focus and experience are exemplary, and our decision to put Christian in the race car in no way reflects upon Justin's clear ability as a competitive racing driver. We are, however, in discussions with Justin about how Jaguar Racing can help with his future career."
One of the drivers on the short list of possible Jaguar drivers was former F1 race driver Alexander Wurz, but he chose to continue in his role as the test/reserve driver for McLaren-Mercedes in 2004.
"With McLaren-Mercedes' 2004 testing program having already begun, I felt it necessary to take my future into my own hands so as to fully focus on the season's preparation," Wurz said. "McLaren-Mercedes is a loyal and rewarding team to be part of, and I believe they offer me the best future."
McLaren debuts new car: West McLaren-Mercedes became the first team to test its 2004 car when David Coulthard tried out the new MP4-19 in Valencia. Spain. Coulthard set the quickest time at the test.
The car is based on the MP4-18 that the team tested but never raced in 2003.
"The MP4-19 is an evolution from MP4-18, but in fact the part count has a much higher proportion of completely new parts than we had supposed at the outset of the project," said McLaren Racing Managing Director Martin Whitmarsh. "Certainly the front portion is very reminiscent of the MP4-18 in terms of its geometry. However, the suspension treatment and areas around the back are different and have evolved in line with our thinking and development work since we finalized the 18."
Ferrari quickest in Barcelona: Reigning World Champion Ferrari set the quickest lap times of the teams attending the test in Barcelona, Spain.
With two-time United States Grand Prix winner Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello still on vacation, Ferrari test drivers Luca Badoer, Luciano Burti and Felipe Massa were on hand in Barcelona. Massa will fill a dual role in 2004, as he will race for Sauber-Petronas, which uses year old Ferrari engines, and test on occasion for Ferrari.
Badoer was the fastest man on track over the three days in Barcelona. Much of the work involved evaluating tires for Bridgestone, which brought 20 specifications and a total of 1,200 tires to the test.
"This was only the first test of the winter period, and I am encouraged by the amount and quality of the information we have come away with," said Bridgestone Motorsport Technical Manager Hisao Suganuma. "There have been some interesting results this week relating to both development compounds and constructions, and we are looking forward to utilizing this data so we can move forward to the next stage of development."
Williams-BMW begins work: 2000 Indianapolis winner Juan Pablo Montoya, Ralf Schumacher and Marc Gené shared testing duties for Williams-BMW at Valencia, Spain. The test team ran more than 1,550 miles (2,500 km) of evaluation work, aimed mainly at preparing components for the Williams-BMW FW26.
Both the new BMW P84 engine and transmission were tested over long-run simulations. New rules in 2004 limit each driver to a single engine during the entire Grand Prix weekend, and teams are working on engine reliability.
"Marc was driving the 25B with the new engine and gearbox," Williams Chief Operations Engineer Sam Michael said. "He spent the test doing systems checks and reliability running. The majority of the components performed well, and we will continue with mileage on these parts through the next few tests.
"Ralf and Juan spent the test working on electronics, traction control, suspension setups and tire testing for Michelin. Manual starts and gear shifting were high on the test list, as well, given that they cannot be automatic in 2004.
"It took the drivers some time to get used to it again, and now they are making progress."
BAR concept car: Lucky Strike BAR-Honda drivers Jenson Button and Takuma Sato tested with the team's concept car, which is an interim chassis being used to evaluate the performance of the new rear-end package that includes the 2004 engine from Honda.
The team has switched from Bridgestone to Michelin tires, and was the first opportunity for the team to work with Michelin and to retune the car in light of this change.
"The team concentrated on running through procedures and working on reliability," Button said. "We have achieved what we hoped to do, which was to get a good number of miles on the car, and we have managed over 400 kilometers (250 miles) on each of the last two days. The new Honda engine has been running well and reliably, which is a good sign.
"This has also been the first test working with our new tire partners, and as expected we have learned a lot about the differences needed in car setup. The team is going to do a lot of work on the basis of what we have learned, and that will help us to find the best setup and get the most out of the tires at the remaining two tests of the year."
Technical Director Geoffrey Willis said: "This was the first time we had run the 2004 engine and rear-end package together, and we also had our first outings on Michelin tires. It was to be expected that there would be initial teething problems with all of these new elements being brought together, so the fact that we were able to complete over 400 km fault-free on the first full day with a completely new engine, gearbox, suspension and hydraulics is very impressive and a tribute to all the hard work and attention that has gone in to design, manufacture and build."
Renault's program: Jarno Trulli and Mild Seven Renault's test/reserve driver Franck Montagny worked on a variety of programs during the test in Valencia, Spain, including brakes, tires, aerodynamics, chassis systems development, engine and transmission.
The new rules ban fully automatic gear changes, so all the drivers are getting used to changing gears by flicking a lever behind the steering wheel.
"We did a significant amount of mileage, completing more laps than any of our competitors today," Renault Executive Director of Engineering Pat Symonds said on the third day of the test. "The circuit appeared to get slightly slower in the afternoon, but we had a productive day even so. The developments Franck has tested have increased the car's stability, while Jarno has been very happy with the car throughout the test."
First Sauber run for Fisichella: Giancarlo Fisichella, who won the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix driving for Jordan-Ford, had his first run with his new team, Sauber-Petronas, when he tested in Barcelona, Spain.
"For the first day with my new team, I'm quite happy with the result," Fisichella said. "I covered almost 100 laps, which is a lot for Barcelona. In the morning we had some problems with the car setup, and my seat position was not the optimum and needed some adaptation. Later I was able to complete the scheduled test program for the day, but there is still a lot to learn.
"It's a very nice and familiar atmosphere at Sauber. Everyone works in a very professional and friendly manner."
At the end of the three-day test, Chief Race Engineer Jacky Eeckelaert said: "Overall, the three days were very productive and we were able to complete our planned program. Giancarlo proved to be a real professional and adapted very quickly to his new environment. He has the reputation of being a very professional and factually thinking racer, and he underlined this."
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Toyota tests at two tracks: The Panasonic Toyota team tested in Valencia, Spain, and at Circuit Paul Ricard in France.
"The test this week was essentially an installation run of our new TF103B car, which has a completely new rear end," said test driver Ricardo Zonta, who was at Paul Ricard. "We used the four days to get a feel for the new engine, gearbox and rear suspension. I was quite impressed with the new components because we had no real problems all week. This is definitely a positive sign for the future.
"Having said that, it is difficult to draw any real conclusions of this first test with the new car because there was some inconsistency with the weather conditions, which made it hard to do any back-to-back comparisons."
Jordan to begin testing: Jordan-Ford's winter test program starts Dec. 3 in Jerez, Spain, with Nick Heidfeld and Jarek Janis. The team has signed an option on Heidfeld.
"Nick is a prime candidate for a revitalized Jordan Grand Prix next year, and we are anxious for him to start getting to know the team at this stage," Eddie Jordan said. "It is an important test as we have got a lot of new components to try as well as vital tire testing for Bridgestone."
Janis, from the Czech Republic, will compete in the FIA International F3000 Championship in 2004.
James Robinson has joined Jordan-Ford as head of race and test engineering. Robinson replaces Gary Anderson, who is scaling down his involvement with the team.
Robinson will work alongside Chief Designer John McQuilliam, Head of Aerodynamics Nicolo Petrucci, Head of Electronics Mike Wroe and Head of Operations David Williams in Jordan's Technical Management Group. Prior to joining Jordan, Robinson held senior engineering management roles at BAR, Williams and McLaren.
Minardi to evaluate drivers: European Minardi-Cosworth will stage a three-day test Dec. 10-12 at Vallelunga, Italy. Argentina's José Maria Lopez, Finland's Heikki Kovalainen and Italy's Fabrizio Del Monte will test for the team.
"The driver evaluation part of the exercise is simply a further example of the team's ongoing and highly successful policy of seeking out the best young talents on the motor racing scene and introducing them to Formula One in a controlled and responsible way," Team Principal Paul Stoddart said. "It is obviously an approach that has paid off handsomely, as we saw at Monza this year, when eight of the 20 competitors on the starting grid for the Italian Grand Prix were either former or current Minardi drivers."
USGP tickets: Tickets for the 2004 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis on June 20 are on sale, and the IMS ticket office encourages customers to place orders early to ensure the best possible opportunity to acquire good seats.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com or by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.
