Irvine tests in Italy and Spain

Eddie Irvine was testing an older Ferrari F300B in Barcelona last Monday in order to evaluate the new track surface on the main straight which is designed to reduce the amount of spray coming up from the surface during wet conditions. Irvine was joined by Luca Badoer for the test in a second car and the test on the wet portion of special track was considered very successful.

That evening Irvine left for Barcelona to test the F399 chassis on Tuesday where he ran 80 laps for a best of 1m 23,967 secs and 73 laps the following day with a best of 1m 23,196 secs. He thought that the softer suspension tried during the test was an improvement. Michael Schumacher was absent from the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro testing session due to an injured ankle caused while training. He is expected to join the team in Jerez this weekend where they will continue their testing programme before Brazil.

Coulthard fastest in Silverstone

The McLaren team were testing on Monday and Tuesday in Silverstone, David Coulthard quicker than his team-mate Mika Hakkinen on both days. After setting a 1m 25,783 on Monday , Mika's best time was 1m 26,246 secs although his car suffered a slight hydraulic problem during the day , but not the same that put Coulthard out of the race in Melbourne. Meanwhile, Coulthard was to have accelerator problems. On Tuesday he set a best of 1m 25,934 secs, two tenth's faster than Hakkinen. On Thursday the team went to the RAF base at Kemble to for aerodynamic tests which were driven by Darren Manning.

McLaren are planning another three day test before Brazil, but have not yet decided if it will be in Jerez, Magny Cours or Barcelona.

Jordan run in Barcelona

Frentzen kicked off three days of testing for the Jordan team on Tuesday in Barcelona. He ran 49 laps with a best of 1m 24,09 secs trying different set-ups and checking temperatures with respect to what they can expect in Brazil. He stopped early at 4pm for a routine engine change. "We tried a lot of different settings today to see how the car behaved," said Frentzen, who was feeling positive about the progress they had made since Melbourne. On Wednesday, Hill joined the test and set a best of 1m 23,46 secs, three tenth's faster than Frentzen who had a spin without any damage to the car. On Thursday both drivers set identical times of 1m 23,29 secs without trying qualifying set-up.

Stewart quickest in Barcelona

The Stewart team continued to impress during their testing session in Barcelona, Rubens Barrichello setting the fastest time this year on the track with a best of 1m 20,48 secs on Thursday. Herbert was second fastest for the week with a best of 1m 22,02 secs. The team were testing modified suspension for the first time which worked well, while they were also concentrating on engine development. They increased the rev-limit from Melbourne, but then continued to suffer reliability problems with three failures in three days. "We were fast but fragile," commented Cosworth's Nick Hayes. We have overcome the grid fire problem in Melbourne and carried out two simulated hot starts here without trouble," he added. With the higher rev-limit than we ran in Melbourne we did suffer engine problems, but we have learnt a lot from it. We have accumulated a great deal more data."

Two Saubers in Barcelona

The Sauber-Petronas team were testing Barcelona with two C18 chassis. Alesi ran alone on Tuesday , but was joined by Diniz the following day. Alesi set a 1m 24,05 secs the first day and then a 1m 24,07 secs on Wednesday. Diniz ran a 1m 24,46 secs the first day and improved to 1m 24,13 secs on Thursday when Alesi did not run. The team were concentrating on gearbox development and reliability in a bid to avoid their problems of the first race.

Benetton stay at home

The Benetton team decided to test in England along with McLaren and spent their time working on developing their new FTT (front torque transfer) system for the front wheels under braking. Fisichella ran 37 laps with a best of 1m 27,519 secs) and Wurz only 25 laps with a best of 1m 28,255 secs after being in the garage most of the afternoon with a transmission problem. On Tuesday they carried out a tyre test programme. Fisichella running 37 laps with a best of 1m 26,198 secs , while Wurz had engine trouble and did not get below 1m 27,746 secs.

Arrows also run in Silverstone

The Arrows team were working on engine, chassis and aerodynamic development for two days in Silverstone. Both drivers shared the driving, Takagi's suffering an oil leak on Tuesday after just one lap which prevented him running all day as t could not be fixed at the track. Arrows plan to carry out aerodynamic tests at Lurcy-Levis on Monday and Tuesday of next week and will then do a shakedown at Santa Pod before leaving for Brazil.

Minardi work on reliability

Minardi worked on reliability during their test at Barcelona with Gene who set a best of 1m 24,78 secs. Luca Badoer plans to run again in Mugello the 29th and 30th of March where the team will try major aerodynamic modifications.

Prost tried race simulation

The Prost team ran three days in Barcelona with two cars for Panis and Trulli. They carried out race simulation and pit stops as well as a new rear wing and modified front wing. They also tested new front suspension geometry to improve stability under braking. The team, had no mechanical problems.

Zonta trains at pit stops

Ricardo Zonta was the only driver for BAR at Silverstone where he practice his pit stop techniques. Apart from that the team also worked on chassis set-up and reliability. The team plan another test March 31- April 2nd in Barcelona.