Ralf joins WilliamsF1 at Paul Ricard

Day two for the BMW WilliamsF1 team at the Paul Ricard circuit would see Antonio Pizzonia joined by Ralf Schumacher. Antonio would finish behind BAR's Jenson Button while Ralf was fifth.

The day would see improved conditions with it been far less windy. The team continued its preparations for next week's Bahrain Grand Prix.

Antonio would spend his day focusing on long distance runs prior to switching to tyre evaluations. He would complete one hundred & twenty nine laps, posting a best time of 1m:11.211. Ralf focused on testing various setups for the FW26 combining that with testing of the cars traction control systems. This would involve several practice starts. He would complete one hundred & four nine laps, posting a best time of 1m:11.520.

WilliamsF1's Chief Operations Engineer Sam Michael commented: "Today Ralf joined the test and spent the morning tyre testing for Michelin. In the afternoon he worked on traction control and set-up options for the forthcoming races. Antonio also spent the day tyre testing, performing long runs on the favoured tyres that he evaluated yesterday. He also completed some fuel system checks."

Tomorrow, Ralf is joined by reigning IRL Champion, Scott Dixon, who is making his Formula One debut with the WilliamsF1 team.

Pos Driver Team-Engine Time Laps

1. Button BAR-Honda (M) 1:11.047 119
2. Pizzonia WilliamsF1 BMW (M) 1:11.211 129
3. de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:11.390 30
4. Sato BAR-Honda (M) 1:11.427 80
5. R. Schumacher WilliamsF1 BMW (M) 1:11.520 104
6. Wurz McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:12.358 31
7. Montagny Renault (M) 1:12.468 134
8. Zonta Toyota (M) 1:12.585 94
9. Briscoe Toyota (M) 1:12.641 110