Williams concludes first test

The Williams F1 Team finished the first days of testing of the new year. Alexander Wurz, the new test driver from the Williams F1 Team made advantage of the first days of testing to meet everybody on the team and to get the know the car.

Sam Michael, Technical Director, WilliamsF1 “Mark and Alex drove today, finishing the first test of 2006. We covered good mileage with Mark's car and tested some tyres for Bridgestone at the same time. Unfortunately, however, we had some reliability problems on Alex's car that resulted in limited track time for him today. We will now review these faults and return to Jerez next week with Nico and Alex.”

Alex Wurz "For me, this was a very useful test to meet and get to know the team and to start learning their working philosophy. Although I was busy familiarising myself with the way everything operates, as well as the new engineers and technicians I am working with, we immediately started with our programme and it ended up being a positive first test for me overall. In particular, I was really happy with the engine power levels for my first time driving the V8 and, of course, it was my first time on Bridgestones, which have a very different sensation under cornering and 'feel' coming back through the steering wheel. I had to change my driving style a little to suit the tyre characteristics, but it was good to try the Bridgestones for the first time at a tough tyre track like Jerez."

Simon Corbyn, Head of F1 Race Engineering, Cosworth “Cosworth’s test objectives for Jerez were to accumulate track miles and collect feedback from the drivers on some of the latest specification CA2006 components and systems. Overall, progress with the engine is good and we are working hard to finalise the engine specification for the initial races. Driver feedback on engine performance continues to be very positive. Unfortunately, we did suffer an engine failure this afternoon and are now working through possible solutions to the problem.”