Sauber bring 2002 to a close at Barcelona

Nick working hard
By Phil Huff
December 13 2002

Sauber Petronas concluded its final test day of the 2002 season in Barcelona, at the Circuit de Catalunya today, with regular wheelmen Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Nick Heidfeld, completing 86 and 78 laps respectively.

Jacky Eeckelaert (Head of Vehicle Engineering) said "It was a good surprise today to see the blue sky in the morning and not to be a victim of the bad weather. We made up for the previous days and both drivers were able to get on with our program right away with a minimum of delay. Both ran first a tyre testing program on behalf of Bridgestone. We also had some times left to continue the 2003 development with new mechanical parts for Nick and finalize the damper development program that we began yesterday with Heinz-Harald Frentzen. It is always important in testing that the car is reliable. Sometimes even more when you are doing this type of work. We are particularly happy therefore that the Sauber Petronas C21 performed reliably for both drivers throughout the test."

Nick Heidfeld commented "We had a good positive day today although I finished the program a little bit earlier due to an oil leak which we could not fix immediately. However we have been able to achieve everything that we prepared in the program."

Heinz-Harald Frentzen said "It's been an interesting day trying a number of different tyres and what I have learned gives me great optimism for the challenge Sauber Petronas and Bridgestone will be able to present next year."

P	Driver	Team	Engine	Car	Tyre	Best Lap	Laps
1	R Barrichello	Ferrari	Ferrari	F2002	B	1:15.917	70
2	L Badoer	Ferrari	Ferrari	F2002	B	1:16.163	71
3	HH Frentzen	Sauber	Petronas	C21	B	1:18.141	86
4	N Heidfeld	Sauber	Petronas	C21	B	1:18.550	78