DECEMBER 7, 1998

Ferrari fastest in Barcelona

ALL the Formula 1 teams except Benetton and BAR were in action last week in Barcelona with Michael Schumacher emerging fastest in the two dry days of the test.

ALL the Formula 1 teams except Benetton and BAR were in action last week in Barcelona with Michael Schumacher emerging fastest in the two dry days of the test. The third day was ruined by torrential rain. Ferrari began testing on Tuesday with LucaÊBadoer completing 45 laps with a best of 1m24.19s. He then handed over to Schumacher who clocked a 1m23.80s after only 23 laps. He then had an off and damaged the undertray of his car.

McLaren had two cars for David Coulthard and Nick Heidfeld and concentrated on tire development work. Heidfeld ended up the faster of the two with a best of 1m24.08s after nearly 100 laps, which included one spin. Coulthard did 110 laps with a best of 1m24.14s.

Damon Hill had two Jordans to himself for both days of the test and completed 80 laps before crashing heavily and damaging the rear of one of the cars. His best lap was a 1m24.11s, the third fastest time of the test.

Sauber gave Pedro Diniz his first runs with the team and he completed 75 laps despite some gearbox troubles. Jean Alesi was due to run on the third day of the test but he did only one installation lap because of the bad weather.

Williams was running a pair of cars for Alex Zanardi and Max Wilson, testing new systems that will be used on the 1999 car and getting the cars dialled into the new Bridgestone rubber. Wilson completed 70 laps with a best of 1m24.93s while Zanardi did 80 laps to record a 1m25.07s.

Prost had a couple of cars available for Jarno Trulli and Stephane Sarrazin. Trulli used the AP01B chassis with the newÊPeugeot engine and completed 43 laps despite gearbox and engine problems. His best lap was a 1m25.32s. Sarrazin ranÊthe older car with the team's new gearbox and concentrated on brake development, completing 100 laps with a best of 1m25.86s.

Despite the uncertainty over the team's future, Arrows was in action in Spain with Mika Salo running the 1999-specification engine and a new gearbox. He ran on all three days, doing engine-mapping and completed a total of 100 laps with a best of 1m25.33s.

Stewart gave Johnny Herbert his first run with a second car running for Formula 3 driver Luciano Burti. Herbert completed a total of 90 laps with a best of 1m25.99s while Burti had gearbox trouble but completed 60 laps with a best of 1m26.77s.

Cesare Fiorio arrived at the Barcelona test in Minardi team gear and ran Laurent Redon, Marc Gene and Donny Crevels. Redon completed 50 laps on the first day with a best lap of 1m27.40s while Gene ran 22 laps on Wednesday, lapping in 1m27.09s. Crevels was less successful. He crashed on his first lap but eventually completed 25 laps with a best of 1m29.63s.