DECEMBER 5, 2003

Tung Ho-pin prepares for F1 test

Chinese driver Tung Ho-pin, who will have his first tests in an F1 car on December 11 at Jerez, is now working with trainer Erwin Gollner to prepare for his first taste of F1. Gollner was previously working with Jacques Villeneuve but has been with Tung since mid-November.

Tung has been undergoing rigorous fitness tests in recent days to make sure that he is fit enough when he gets his chance although he took some time off recently to visit Williams for a seat-fitting.

"When I arrived at the factory, there was a BMW Williams F1 in the reception with my name on it," says the Dutch-born racer. "The feeling I had at that moment was incredible, very special."

Tung is the latest youngster to be given a run by Williams, following in the footsteps of Nelson Piquet Jr and Nico Rosberg, who tested at Jerez this week.

Ralf Schumacher and Marc Gene were busy working on development programmes for 2004 while the two youngsters shared a second car.

"This week was great fun," said Rosberg. "It was a really unbelievable experience. Of course there was a lot of pressure, but I decided not to worry about that and just to do the best I could. I was particularly happy that I managed to understand the car and work out how it was behaving, and after that I managed to set a good pace."

Piquet was also satisfied with his performance.

"I was quite satisfied with how I got on," he said. "I really appreciated the assistance I was given by the engineers who really helped me in my programme."