Midland continue to make slow progress at Jerez

By Huw Alban
February 9 2006

Tiago got his first taste of the M16 today at Jerez, but only managed a small number of laps because his seat hadn’t arrived (apparently). Nevertheless he appeared happy with his somewhat limited and uncomfortable time in the new car.

“I went out in the new car this afternoon and although we didn't do many laps it was good to get a feel for what it is like,” Monteiro has been quoted as saying via the official team press release. “I am happy with what we achieved and look forward to getting more laps completed tomorrow.”

According to an article in the Portuguese Autosport at the beginning of the week, Tiago gets the M16 for the whole day tomorrow on what will be the team’s last day of testing at Jerez. Today the popular driver completed some setup work as well as becoming accustomed to the new car.

Christijan Albers, meanwhile, hopped into the EJ15B for the afternoon and was able to give an interesting comparison between the old and the new. “I spent the first half of today in the new car and I am pleased that we are making good progress,” he has been quoted as saying by the Midland press office.

“I have now driven both cars and I am still positive about the changes that have been made over the winter. I am still looking forward to the start of the season and getting as much as possible out of the new car before then.”

A few short days, and Christijan is already looking forward to driving the M16 under competitive race conditions. There’s a dose of confidence for the doubters out there !

The full list of times from the test are given below:

1. P. de la Rosa - McLaren Mercedes MP4-20 V10 - 1'17"451 - 123 laps
2. G. Fisichella - Renault R26 - 1'17"479 (+0"028) - 76 laps
3. M. Webber - Williams Cosworth FW28 - 1'17"767 (+0"316) - 104 laps
4. J. Button - Honda RA106 - 1'17"990 (+0"539) - 118 laps
5. J. Villeneuve - BMW Sauber F1.06 - 1'18"179 (+0"728) - 75 laps
6. N. Heidfeld - BMW Sauber F1.06 - 1'18"278 (+0"827) - 63 laps
7. H. Kovalainen - Renault R26 - 1'18"542 (+1"091) - 45 laps
8. N. Rosberg - Williams Cosworth FW28 - 1'18"843 (+1"392) - 60 laps
9. K. Raikkonen - McLaren Mercedes MP4-21 - 1'18"929 (+1"478) - 40 laps
10. J. Trulli - Toyota TF106 - 1'19"083 (+1"632) - 103 laps
11. R. Schumacher - Toyota TF106 - 1'19"320 (+1"869) - 107 laps
12. V. Liuzzi - Toro Rosso Cosworth STR01 - 1'19"394 (+1"943) - 79 laps
13. C. Albers – MF1 Toyota M16 - 1'20"685 (+3"234) - 90 laps
14. T. Monteiro – MF1 Toyota M16 - 1'20"922 (+3"471) - 63 laps

Times courtesy of Circuit de Jerez.