Over the test the team combined mechanical and aero development work of the FW26 with tyre compound evaluations for Michelin, further progressing the understanding and development of the new car in preparation for its race debut in Melbourne on March 7th.


Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1):

"This week we ran two FW26 cars for the first time, with all the running performed in race conditions in order to test a number of different set-ups on each car, as well as to check sensitivity to tyre degradation on longer runs. A number of minor transmission problems were encountered which we expect to overcome prior to the next test.

Nico Rosberg assisted on two days of the test and performed very well in the 2003 specification FW25, as his lap times demonstrate."


Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):

"Following our productive test in Jerez last week, we also managed to work through to a heavy programme at this week's test in Barcelona. For the first time, two FW26s were running with the new BMW P84 engine. Obviously the focus of the test was on set-up work with the new chassis, but we also completed another race simulation and were able to record an extensive amount of data for the engine set-up."


The BMW WilliamsF1 Team will travel to Valencia next week for a three day test commencing on Tuesday 27th January.