FEBRUARY 9, 2005

Some interesting numbers

Formula 1 testing has been going on now for about a month and, according to our colleagues at F1Total.com, the man who has done the most testing in 2005 is BMW Williams's Nick Heidfeld, who has completed 13 days of tests and 3,021 miles of running. Jarno Trulli is next with 2,388 miles in his Toyota and Franck Montagny who has managed a total of 2,294 miles for Renault. When all the running is added up the team that has done the most is BAR-Honda which was clocked 7,843 miles, which is well clear of Toyota (7,405 miles) and Williams (7,189 miles). Ferrari has completed just 4,732 miles. The teams have been running different specification cars but the model with the most miles is the Toyota TF105 which has clocked up 5,530 miles.

Perhaps the most telling statistic, however, is the total mileage done by the two tyre companies. Michelin-shod cars have completed 38,081 miles of testing while Bridgestone cars have managed only 5,339 miles, seven times less mileage than Michelin. If the amount of knowledge gained increases with the number of miles run, it would seem to be logical to suggest that Bridgestone will go into the new season at an appreciable disadvantage to Michelin.