JANUARY 13, 2003
Sauber rolls out C22 in Barcelona
Williams and Sauber kicked off testing in Barcelona Monday in cold but dry conditions. Williams drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Marc Gene set the fastest times of the day, while teammate Ralf Schumacher could only manage 5 laps, and ended the day at the bottom of the timesheet.
Sauber finally got the new C22 on the track after its debut was delayed last week because it snowed at the Fiorano circuit in Italy. Nick Heidfeld put 61 laps on the new car.
"Our purpose today was simply to check out all the components, control systems, the two-way telemetry and start to optimise the new gearbox and suspension settings," said technical director Willy Rampf. "It has been a successful roll out. From the installation lap and the first run right up to end of the day, the car ran with complete reliability. Our first set-ups and data measurements are satisfactory."
Heinz-Harald Frentzen spent Monday continuing development of components on last year's C21. Frentzen was just two tenths of a second quicker than his younger teammate in the new car. "I am very pleased to hear Nick's comments on the car," said Frentzen. "I am looking forward to my turn to drive the Sauber Petronas C22."