SCHUMACHER QUICKEST IN BARCELONA

Michael Schumacher tested for three days in Barcelona since Tuesday and
recorded the quickest laps in each session. His F300 chassis was in short
chasssis configuration except on Thursday morning. On the first day,
despite an off-track excursion, he did 87 laps (fastest 1m 22.628s), on
Wednesday he spun but managed 84 laps (fastest 1m 22.031s) and on Thursday
88 laps (fastest 1m 21.972s). Schumacher was trying a large number of tyres
and explained; "we are able to narrow the choice for further
tests." Meanwhile Luca Badoer was driving another F300 to assess
aerodynamic and mechanical set-ups. On the three days he completed
respectively 14 laps (fastest 1m 25.368s), 84 laps (fastest 1m 23.731s) and
45 laps (fastest 1m 24.001s). Next week Ferrari will be at Fiorano trying
new components which might be used at Suzuka. The three drivers
(Schumacher, Eddie Irvine and Badoer) will run two days each. A further two
sessions are planned in Mugello.


ZANARDI HAS FIRST WILLIAMS TEST

CART Champion Alex Zanardi had his first familiarisation test at the wheel
of a Williams-Mecachrome FW20 at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on
Tuesday and Wednesday where regular test drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Max
Wilson were also driving. Two FW20s were on hand for the test and Zanardi
completed 65 laps on the first day, posting a best time of 1m 24.70s which
compared with Montoya's 1m 24.47s after 36 laps. "It is certainly
different from the Formula 1 that I left in 1994," said Zanardi.
"It is a completely different car from what I am used to driving in
the USA. It will take time for me to get used to certain things like the
semi-automatic gearbox, the left foot braking and the grooved tyres, but I
have a good team behind me. "The handling of the car was really
different (to my CART car), mainly becayse of the weight of the car and its
narrower track. I could say that I was surprised, because I was expecting a
car which would be capable of braking much deeper into a corner. In fact,
it is not that superior, actually. CART cars are a lot of fun and
definitely easier to drive than F1 cars, at least from what I have seen
today." James Robinson, Senior Operations Engineer, commented;
"Alex was obviously getting a feel for the car and getting used to the
left foot braking which he was finding to me quite sensitive. It was very
encouraging to see him in good mastery of the controls and we did not have
to tell him twice about any of the functions on the car." On Wednesday
Zanardi completed another 43 laps for a best time of 1m 24.43s while
Montoya did 28 laps and recorded a 1m 24.37s fastest. In order to prepare
for Sunday's CART race in Houston, Zanardi completed his programme at 15.00
and the FW20 was then taken over by Max Wilson who covered 20 laps with a
best time of 1m 23.80s. Wilson continued testing on Thursday, covering 36
laps for a best time of 1m 25.47s.


McLAREN SPLITS TEST EFFORT

The McLaren-Mercedes team divided its efforts this week with Mika Hakkinen
spending two days at Magny-Cours carrying out wet weather tyre testing on
an artificially flooded track surface. No representative lap times were
available. Meanwhile David Coulthard went to Barcelona where he had two
MP4/13s at its disposal, one of which had a couple of minor technical
modifications which were being assessed in preparation for the Japanese GP.
On Tuesday Coulthard covered 86 laps for a best of 1m 23.26s, on Wednesday
73 laps (best 1m 23.04s) and Thursday 137 laps (best 1m 22.03s).


JORDAN HAS TWO DAYS WITH HILL

Damon Hill spent two days at Barcelona testing the Jordan Mugen-Honda 198
starting on Wednesday when he completed 54 laps for a best time of 1m
24.15s. The team worked on the general chassis set-up and carried out back
to back tyre evaluation as well as trying out some bodywork modifications.
Hill's session ended when he crashed heavily after being forced to take
evasive action in order to avoid a collision with Giancarlo Fisichella's
Benetton. The Italian driver apparently lifted off going into a corner
which forced Hill to leave the track, although he was happily unhurt. The
steering column of the car was damaged quite considerably, but the car was
repaired for Thursday when Damon covered 48 laps for a best of 1m 23.44s.
Running time in the afternoon was lost due to a gearbox failure.


THREE DAYS FOR BENETTON

The Benetton-Playlife team began a three day test programme at Barcelona on
Tuesday when both Giancarlo Fisichella and Alexander Wurz concentrated on
chassis set-up work. Fisichella completed 57 laps for a best time of 1m
24.549s while Alexander Wurz did 40 laps, the fastest being 1m 24.848s. On
Wednesday the team focused on more set-up work during the morning and a
tyre development programme in the afternoon. Fisichella covered 79 laps
with a best time of 1m 24.549s while Wurz completed 40 laps with a best of
1m 24.848s. On Thursday Fisichella did a best of 1m 23.14s (37 laps) while
Wurz managed 1m 23.71s (36 laps).


SAUBER TESTS MULLER

Jorg Muller was at Barcelona for the Sauber-Petronas team running a problem
of development in preparation for next year's car. His best time was set on
Thursday when he recorded a 1m 23.95s after a total of 29 laps.


BAR STARTS TEST PROGRAMME AT BARCELONA

British American Racing started an intensive programme in Barcelona on
Tuesday with test driver Jean-Christophe Boullion. The car was an interim
Tyrrell-based chassis fitted with a Supertec Sport engine. The purpose was
to test the compatability of the engine with the BAR hydraulic and
electronic systems. The team judged the programme to be very productive and
on Thursday morning Boullion was allowed to try for a good time and,
equipped with a new set of Goodyear option tyres and a fresh engine, he got
down to 1m 23.46s. At the time this was third fastest behind Schumacher and
Hill and ahead of Wurz and Fisichella.


NO TEST FOR ARROWS

The Arrows team did not test this week, preferring to complete work at the
factory in preparation for a pre-Suzuka test at Silverstone which will be
carried out by Mika Salo on October 14/15. So far there is no news
concerning Pedro Diniz's future with the team.


STEWART IN SPAIN

Rubens Barrichello completed three days of testing at Barcelona for the
Stewart-Ford team, after which he flew to Brazil for a short break.
Barrichello completed a total of 180 laps from Tuesday to Thursday, having
improved his times from 1m 25.50s (on full fuel load the first day) to 1m
22.69s on the final day. Mario Haberfield, the Brazilian recently crowned
British F3 Champion driving for Paul Stewart Racing, has been invited to do
another round of tests in mid-October.


MINARDI IN ARGENTINA

There was no testing programme for Minardi this week. Giancarlo Minardi is
on his way to Argentina with Esteban Tuero to sign commercial contracts.
The buck of the 1999 monocoque is now completed.

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