NOVEMBER 8, 2002

Williams to continue year-round testing in 2003

When some of the teams are given the opportunity to run their cars on the Fridays of grand prix weekends in 2003, Williams will not be one of them. The F1 Commission voted last month to allow teams extra track time before each grand prix if they opt to forgo all but ten days of testing throughout the rest of the year, but Gerhard Berger has made it clear that Williams, who tests more than most teams, will continue a traditional year-long testing program.

"The top teams continue using all possibilities," said Berger. "Only the small, low-budget teams prefer the Friday tests, but they only take place if there are more than three teams to participate."