JULY 20, 2001
Irvine quickest on final day at Monza
AN increasingly warm day in Italy saw Eddie Irvine set the fastest time at the end of an intriguing four day test.
Testing work focused on the choosing the right tires for next weekend's German Grand Prix, with Rubens Barrichello and Mika Hakkinen heading the Bridgestone runners for Ferrari and McLaren respectively. Eddie Irvine's Jaguar and the Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya ending up the two fastest runners of the day - both on Michelin rubber. Montoya's car caused some interest, running without any marking on its tires. Montoya was joined at Williams by Marc Gene, whose program featured work on the exhaust layout and diffuser, but the developments are not planned to be implemented for the next race and his three failures during the day were blamed on the development parts.
Michelin appears to have had a productive test at Monza, recording the fastest times on three of the four days and clocking the fastest lap of the week with Ralf Schumacher's appearance on Wednesday. There are no non-exclusive tests ahead now until after the Hungarian grand Prix.
|