Toyota made the fastest straight line speed at the Barcelona racetrack in Spain during pre-season testing. 309Km/h (193Mph)
Toyota also stole the show concerning the press. The press and F1 publications were focussed mainly on the newcomer to the F1 paddock.
Toyota say expect no great perfomances in their debut F1 season, as they have to progress in leaps and bounds in order to try and catch up with the other teams.
Rumours are spreading that Ferrari are trying to recruit Juan Pablo Montoya for the 2003 season. The Columbian is seen by the Italian team as a likely successor to 4 times world champion, German, Michael Schumacher.
Alex Wurz, the McLaren test driver set the fastest time in the 2001 car.
McLaren were doing long runs with the 2001 car fitted with the 2002 engine.
David Coulthard was over a second slower than Wurz. Coulthard was using the 2002 chassis, namely the MP4-17.
Coulthard spent a lot of time in the pit, as McLaren were awaiting new development parts from their Woking HQ in England.
Swiss team Sauber were also testing the new C21, packing the session in at lunch time, due to a late night in the pits for the engineering crew. They allowed their new driver, Felipe Massa to get to grips with the new car. Sauber were also testing new aerodynamical parts.
Jaguar cancelled the testing of the R3 at Barcelona for a week in favour of conducting straight line tests in France with the R2 instead.
This is said to be caused by a 'front end problem' with the Jaguar.
More specifically, it's a problem with the entire front wing section of the R3.
Silvserstone testing Jan 22
Jordan Honda F1 team continued testing with the EJ11 and the new EJ12.
They focussed on testing aero and technology parts.
Giancarlo Fisichella commented that the EJ12 handles corners much better than the EJ11.
Jaguar have admitted the new R3's front wing problems are serious. They are redesigning the entire front end of the car in order to produce more downforce. They continued to test the R2 (2001 car) in France.
BAR - Honda
Jacques Villeneuve says the new BAR003 is good enough to get a top 3 position this year.
Villeneuve said the car is a big improvement on the BAR002 with better aero package and cornering ability.
McLaren
Alex Wurz and Kimmi Raikkonen put the McLaren MP4-16 (2001 Model) through their paces today, while testing the new Illmore designed and built Mercedes motors they will use this year.
Rain stopped the session early.
McLaren's Technical Director Adrian Newey says Ferrari are still the team to beat in 2002. He announced that McLaren have undergone a radical shakeup, including staff restructuring in order to bridge the gap between themselves and Ferrari.
Ferrari
Ferrari have developed a radical new 'building block' chassis for 2002. This chassis allows parts from the 2001 car to be used on the 2002 setup and also allows for the car be configured for 2001 or 2002 setup, while running the 2002 motor.
Ferrari are the first Formula-1 team to develop such a system.
The benefits of such a system are quicker development of new parts and a mix of last years proven technology mixed with new technology for 2002.
Ferrari are also said to be scrapping any further development on their radical new gearbox design. In the new design, the gearbox is actually integrated into the engine. The move comes at a time where McLaren's Ron Dennis has openly accused a 'certain team' of preparing to 'cheat in 2002'
Ferrari's current gearbox for 2002 is smaller, lighter and shifts gears quicker than any other gearbox used by other Formula-1 teams.
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