WilliamsF1 starts test at Paul Ricard

By Andrew Hooper
May 7 2003


	Paul Richard Test 06:05:2003 Day One of Four

	After their points scoring finish at last weekends Spanish Grand Prix the WilliamsF1 team was back out testing at the Paul Ricard circuit. Test driver Marc Gene was present and completed an extensive day of testing. In near perfect conditions the team set about testing the FW25 in preparation for the next Grand Prix in Austria. The morning would see Marc focus on the chassis set-up work, with the team coming away satisfied with the results. The second half of the day would see tyre testing take priority with the team testing tyres from Michelin for both construction and mixture. At the end of the day Marc was able to complete 104 laps, setting the fastest lap time of all drivers at 1m:13.665. This time was a whole second ahead of the next driver testing, Sauber's Heinz Harald Frentzen. Next came the Toyota pair of da Matta and Zonta. WilliamsF1 Test Team Manager commented on the days testing by saying: “Marc Gené completed 104 laps today under clear skies at the Paul Ricard circuit. The team predominantly focused on comprehensive set up work of the FW25-02 with additional testing of the Michelin compounds. Tomorrow we will be concentrating on endurance runs with Marc at the wheel again.“ The team will continue testing in Le Castellet tomorrow.

	Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time Laps 1. Gene Williams-BMW (M) 1:13.650 104 2. Frentzen Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:14.631 99 3. da Matta Toyota (M) 1:15.915 63 4. Zonta Toyota (M) 1:16.445 43