WilliamsF1 continues Silverstone test

Day two of testing at Silverstone would see both Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo continue for the BMW WiliamsF1 team. Ralf would finish the day in fifth but Juan-Pablo's testing was interrupted by a blown engine, in a similar fashion to the same problem that affected him during last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix. With the engine failure Juan Pablo was only able to complete sixteen laps and set a time only good enough for tenth fastest. For all the teams present the conditions were like those on Tuesday, with rain and sunshine alternated, so that the track could rarely dry up completely. The teams were all trying to get vital track time in preparation for the Canadian Grand Prix.

With the variable weather conditions Ralf concentrated on tyre tests, with Michelin testing wets, dry weather tyres, as well as intermediates. Ralf would complete fifty five laps.

At the end of the day it would be Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello who would lead the times with a best lap of 1m:22.071 on the way to completing forty seven laps. His focus was on finding a good set-up for Silverstone ahead of the British Grand Prix on July 7 while also getting some running in ahead of Canada. Ferrari has also been working at Monza in Italy this week doing set-up work for Montreal, working on brake testing and high-speed aerodynamic running.

In second and third came the McLaren pair of Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard. Both drivers were working on set-up work and tyre evaluations for Michelin. For Jaguar Eddie Irvine was fourth in the R3. Irvine would run in the morning session prior to allowing Australian James Courtney.

Courtney finished last on the timesheets with a 1m:28.630 after completing twenty nine laps. Irvine’s team-mate Pedro de la Rosa also had a run in the car, completing nine laps and setting the seventeenth best time ahead of Courtney.

In sixth was Renault’s Jenson Button, followed by team-mate Jarno Trulli, BAR Honda’s Jacques Villeneuve, Arrows’ Enrique Bernoldi, and then Montoya.

Jordan’s Takuma Sato was eleventh in the EJ11, ahead of the sole Sauber runner Felipe Massa and Sato’s partner Giancarlo Fisichella. The Toyota team spent the morning in the garages before venturing onto the circuit after lunch, and saw Allan McNish take fourteenth and Mika Salo fifteenth.

Patrick Lemarie, one of BAR’s four development drivers, was 16th in the 03-Honda, ahead of De la Rosa and Courtney.