|
The Williams team completed their three day test at the Circuit de Catalunya
with Mark Webber setting the fourth fastest time in the Cosworth-powered
FW27. Teammate Nico Rosberg was eighth fastest.
Sam Michael, Technical Director, WilliamsF1:
"This week was a
fantastic first test for the new Williams, Cosworth and Bridgestone
partnership and it is a great credit to everybody in Grove and Northampton
to have been able to conduct such a thorough first test together. Although
we experienced the normal teething problems, the mileage we’ve achieved and
the progress we’ve made on set-up and understanding the tyres and how the
car responds to the V8 has been really good. Mark worked on set-up changes
today and did some tyre testing for Bridgestone, while Nico spent this
morning on set-ups but we lost some time on his car repairing a gearbox
problem. Both Mark and Nico will be driving in Jerez next week."
Mark Webber:
"We’ve had a raft of new elements at this test, including
the engine, tyres, hydraulics and electronics, to name just a few. There’ll
all new factors, and potential show stoppers at this early stage, but we’ve
enjoyed reasonable reliability this week. Of course, we haven’t even
scratched the surface with Bridgestone yet in terms of the philosophy of
their tyres in comparison with Michelin, and we’re still getting used to the
new V8 and working on its different characteristics. It’s been a pretty
positive test though and an encouraging start for us."
Nico Rosberg:
"It’s been great to finally get back in the car again
this week after quite a long preparation period. The test went really well
overall, we didn’t experience too many problems, although those that we did
all seemed to happen on my car! The Cosworth engine was very impressive and
very powerful. We had no problems with it which is good considering this
test was its first time out on track. The new gearbox we’ve been running was
also good. The Bridgestone tyres seemed to work well, but it’s difficult to
make comparisons. Obviously, we still need to do some work on tyre
development, and spend some time adapting them to the car. For me, I feel
very comfortable in the car. It feels great to drive and I’m really
confident for the forthcoming tests."
Simon Corbyn, Head of F1 Race Engineering, Cosworth:
"The new Cosworth
CA2006 V8 enjoyed a successful track debut with Williams in Barcelona.
Ambitious performance and reliability targets have been set throughout the
new V8 engine programme & we are on course to deliver against them. This is
a testament to the huge effort put in by everyone at Cosworth and the
excellent working relationship we have established with the Williams team."
Kaz Hamamura, Test Operations Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport:
"We are
satisfied with our first test session with the WilliamsF1 Team. Our
engineers have been working with the team to match the car to our tyres and
we having being getting to know everyone. The initial feedback has been
positive and we are already planning our next session together in Jerez
where we can start to evaluate different specifications together." |