Williams F1 back testing at Paul Ricard

With the teams returning to Europe for the San Marino Grand Prix the BMW WilliamsF1 team moved to the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France to continue the development of the FW27. Nick Heidfeld was joined by test driver Antonio Pizzonia.

On a cloudy day both drivers would work through various aerodynamic and chassis setups, as well as tyre testing for Michelin. Nick would spend the morning working on set-ups before switching to tyre testing in the afternoon. Antonio focused on testing various aerodynamic and mechanical set-up.

Antonio would complete sixty laps, setting a best time of 1m:04.442
minutes, while Nick completed sixty eight laps with a best lap time of 1m:06.086. Both drivers continue here tomorrow. Both drivers would have problems during the day, with Nick having gearbox problems midday. Antonio would also have transmission problems but later in the day.

WilliamsF1 Test Team Manager Tim Newton commented: "A straightforward day during which we completed our planned programme, focusing mainly on tyre and set-up work."