04.09.2003 MICHAEL SCHUMACHER LEADS THE WAY ON DAY THREE OF THE MONZA TEST

McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen was next up, followed by Hungarian Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso's Renault. Fifth quickest was Ferrari tester Luca Badoer, while the second Renault of Jarno Trulli and McLaren of David Coulthard respectively were next up. 

FERRARI

Third day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro at the Monza circuit. Once again today, Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and Luca Badoer were in action. The day’s technical programme centred on endurance testing and tyre evaluation for Michael and Luca, while Rubens concentrated on tyre development and establishing a good set-up. Schumacher completed a total of 79 laps with a best time of 1’21’”286. Badoer covered 74 laps (best time 1’21”804) while Barrichello put together 53 laps with a best time of 1’22”050.

Circuit: Autodromo di Monza, 5.793 km, Drivers: Michael Schumacher, Luca Badoer & Rubens Barrichello, Car: F2003-GA, Weather: air temperature 19/26°C, track temperature 23/40°C, sunny.

Meanwhile it was the third day of testing this week for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro at their Fiorano test circuit. Once again today, Felipe Massa was driving, at the wheel of an F2002. The Brazilian continued with the Bridgestone tyre development programme. Over the day, a total of 155 laps were completed (29 on the short version of the track.) The best time was a 57”851. Testing at Fiorano will resume on Saturday 6th September.

Circuit: Pista di Fiorano, 2.976 km, short course 1.413 km, Driver: Felipe Massa, Car: F2002, Weather: air temperature 20/25/24°C, track temperature 24/47/27°C. Clear skies.

MINARDI

Today marked the second, and final, day of testing at Monza for European Minardi Cosworth.   Once again, the Faenza team’s test driver, Gimmy Bruni, handled the morning stint.  He then handed over the controls of the sole PS03 chassis present to regular race driver, Nicolas Kiesa, in the afternoon.  The main technical tasks were assessment of aerodynamic components, including a new nose, floor and engine cover, software development, particularly in the area of engine braking, and tyre evaluation.  The drivers also used the opportunity to do some initial chassis set-up work ahead of the upcoming Italian Grand Prix.  There were a number of “red-flag” interruptions in the course of Thursday, but pleasingly, the team was still able to complete its full technical programme by the end of the day. 

GIANMARIA BRUNI: “Like yesterday, I think we had a good session this morning, running with quite a bit of fuel in the car.  Unfortunately, towards the end, when we had a new set of tyres fitted and were carrying less fuel, we encountered a lot of traffic on the track.  I’m generally satisfied with the job we did this morning, however, and among other things, we tested a new floor, carried out some tyre comparisons, and tried the potential aero balance for Indianapolis.  Now I am looking forward to driving the Minardi PS03 again in the Friday test session during the Italian Grand Prix weekend.”

NICOLAS KIESA: “It was a good day for us.  When we tested the two types of tyres on offer, I felt a big difference between them, so if you ask me which I want for the Italian Grand Prix, I now know pretty much that it’s the second set we tried.  As far as the set-up of the car is concerned, we had a good balance today.  We tried it with a little less downforce and still kept the balance, which is good.  I’m happy with the job we did, and it has definitely been a constructive day for me.”

ANDY TILLEY, Chief Engineer: “We carried out a similar programme to yesterday, with the aerodynamics and tyre testing after lunch with Nicholas.  Everything has gone well, without any problems.  We completed the planned number of laps with both drivers, and we’ll now go back to Faenza and analyse the results in order to decide what to do for the start of the Grand Prix, next weekend.”

PAUL STODDART, Team Principal: “Today the team completed its two-day test at Monza with faultless performances from both the PS03 chassis and the drivers.  We have gained valuable data from this test, not only for the upcoming Italian Grand Prix at Monza, but also for the other remaining races this season.  The drivers were able to complete their technical programmes and we now look forward to using the information gained to improve our on-track performance.”