February 26 1996
All of the information in this section was obtained from a bloke down the pub, which means that while we believe all the following information to be true, we couldn't swear that it is.
What we will say however, is that usually, "there's no smoke without fire".....
Schumacher Rain Stops Weekend Testing
Schumacher Still Troubled
Villeneuve Quickest On Friday
Mika Quickest Again
French GP Staying Put In 97
Mika Sets Lap Record
Wednesday Times
Hill Sets Lap Record
Tuesday Times
Jordan Top Of The Heap
Where's The New Ferrari ?
Sauber Flying
Ligier Tests Going Well
Minardi Happy
Arrows Shakedown Tests At Silverstone
Forti To Announce Driver
Return Of American GP?
Williams Practice Pit Stops !!
Schumacher Rain Stops Weekend Testing
Michael Schumachers troubled times spilled over into his weekend test session. On Saturday he managed a best time of 1.21.61. Further testing on Sunday was ruled out by rain. Ferrari are set to continue tresting this week at Fiorino wher Schumacher and Irvine will be trying to get the car ready in time for the Australian GP.
Michael Schumachers troubled times continued on Friday. He actually had a drive in the F310, well until the second bend when it ground to a halt. With only 14 days to go before the start of the Australian GP Ferarri still have a lot of work to do. They must enter their new car, as last years is now illeagal due to rule changes. 14 days is a long time in any sport, lets hope they can get the car ready in time.
Jacques Villeneuve posted the fastest time on Friday. The young Canadian flew round in 1.19.85 just outside Mika Hakkinens fastest time. Gerhard Berger continued to improve on his times and he too joined the sub 1.20.00 club with a best of 1.19.90. Alesi only completed nine laps today.
| 1. | Jacques Villeneuve | 1.19.85 |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | Gerhard Berger | 1.19.90 |
| 3. | Jean Alesi | 1.20.56 |
| 4. | David Coulthard | 1.21.86 |
| 5. | Ricardo Rosset | 1.24.49 |
Mika Hakkinen was quickest again today and became the first driver below 1.20.00. The Benettons were quicker and Mika Salo put in an impressive time in the Tyrrell. Jacques Villeneuve posted the fastest time for a Williams driver so far this week. The Ferrari is still struggling though.
| 1 | Mika Hakkinen | 1.19.65 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Jean Alesi | 1.20.26 |
| 3 | Mika Salo | 1.20.45 |
| 4 | Jacques Villeneuve | 1.20.54 |
| 5 | Gerhard Berger | 1.20.75 |
| 6 | Michael Schumacher | 1.21.08 |
The proposed move from Magny Cours to Paul Ricard in 1997 looks like being postponed until 1998.
It emerged today that FOCA had already signed contracts to race at Magny Cours before the decision to move the race was made.
Mika Hakkinen today confirmed that both he and the McLaren team were back on top and ready for the coming season. Mika managed a best time of 1.20.87. Reportedly a new lap record, though David Coulthard qualified with 1.20.54 in 1995. Mika didn't test on Tuesday, but on Monday he was third fastest behind Brundle and Hill.
Mika Hakkinen was fastest with a stunning 1.20.87. Damon Hill continued to impress with a best time of 1.20.95. Barrichello kept the Jordan flying and clocked the same time as Hill 1.20.95Jacques Villeneuve was fourth fastest with a best lap of 1.21.11. Gerhard Berger is having a better time of it now, and he managed a best lap of 1.21.38. Martin Brundle brought the second Jordan home in a fastest lap of 1.21.64.. Mika Salo continued Tyrrell's impressive recovery with a best time of 1.21.91. Jean Alesi only managed two laps in his Benetton so his best time of 1.22.58 is not really representative. Ukyo Katayama brought the second Tyrrell home in a best time of 1.23.06. Finally, Jos Verstappen took the new Arrows FA17 round in a best time of 1.23.53. The most interesting aspect of these times is how many drivers got below 1.22.00. In 95 Berger qualified 4th with a time of 1.21.97. That time would now only be good enough for 8th!!
On Tuesday it was Damon Hill's chance to soak up the glory, as he set a fastest time of 1.21.10. The new Williams is said to be a brilliant car "straight out of the box". There are a few tweaks to be done, though nothing major.
| 1st | Damon Hill | 1.21.10 |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Martin Brundle | 1.21.17 |
| 3rd | Rubens Barrichello | 1.21.19 |
| 4th | Jacques Villeneuve | 1.21.44 |
| 5th | Olivier Panis | 1.22.48 |
| 6th | Michael Schumacher | 1.22.55 |
| 7th | Jean Alesi | 1.22.61 |
| 8th | Mika Salo | 1.22.89 |
| 9th | Ukyo Katayama | 1.23.89 |
| 10th | Gerhard Berger | 1.26.95 |
Earlier in the week the pace was set by the Jordan duo of Barrichello and Brundle. With Brundle setting the fastest time on Monday with a best lap of 1.21.51. Hill was second fastest with a best of 1.21.71. Sorry no full times for Monday :-(
Due to problems with the new car, Schumacher has been forced to test in the hybrid that the team were using before the launch of the F310. The problems are reported to be gearbox related. The F310 was expected to return today (Wednesday) but failed to show on the track.
The Sauber pairing of Herbert and Frentzen have been testing at Barcelona. Herbert managed a best time of 1.23.46 and Frentzen managed 1.22.30. Last year Frentzen qualified in 1.24.80, so the new car looks to be at least 2.5 seconds quicker !
Ligier have conducted their long distance tests at Barcelona. The cars covered over 700 Km with no problems. Panis set a quickest lap of 1.23.23 and Diniz managed 1.25.70. Ligier are now at Estoril where all the teams are in final test sessions.
The Minardi team are happy with their progress so far. Inoue has yet to test but Pedro Lamy managed a best time of 1.23.10 at Estoril last week. The car has completed most of the long distance test sessions, over 1000 Km.
Arrows Shakedown Tests At Silverstone
Arrows continue to use Jos Verstappen and Ricardo Rosset for testing. Last week the FA17 was put through initial tests at Silverstone. One car has now been shipped to Estoril and Verstappen and Rosset will share the drive.Arrows have still to confirm their two drivers, though an announcement is expected soon. Gianni Morbidelli is still being linked with the team.
Forti are expected to announce on Thursday that Luca Badoer will be their second driver. The team are off to Paul Ricard (or possibly Fiorino) to test.
The US GP may return to the F1 calendar next year. It is understood that Las Vegas is favourite. We can all hope that they will find an alternative to the Ceasars Palace car park !
Williams Practice Pit Stops !!
The big rumour is that Williams have been practising pit stops!!. Last week at Estoril they were seen to practice a timed "race mode" pit stop. Lessons learned from last year perhaps ?
