3 drivers on track for Midland

Today, testing began for the Midland F1 Team at Valencia, Spain, with 3 drivers behind the wheel: Tiago Monteiro, Markus Winkelhock and Giorgio Mondini. Monteiro was the only one driving the M16 today.

Driver: Tiago Monteiro
Chassis: M16-02
Engine: Toyota
Fastest Lap: 1.12.93
Number of Laps: 86
Distance: 343km

Tiago Monteiro kicked off the team's second test with the M16 at Valencia with a program that included set-up work, tyre testing and control system evaluations. We made considerable progress in these areas and will continue exploring these areas with Christijan Albers tomorrow.

Tiago Monteiro "We worked through a number of different set ups, improving the balance throughout the day, and I am pleased with the tyre testing we completed. The car's handling is improving all the time and we are learning a lot. I'm pleased with the progress we have been making with the new car since we began testing last week."

Driver: Markus Winkelhock
Chassis: EJ15B-03
Engine: Toyota
Fastest Lap: 1.14.30
Number of Laps: 87
Distance: 347km

Today's session was intended as a familiarisation for Markus and a chance to complete more mileage with the team following his test at the end of last year in Jerez. He did a good job covering a number of planned test items and the team is pleased with his progress.

Markus Winkelhock "The car felt really good and I gained more experience after the test in Jerez in December. I feel more and more confident in the car and it was nice to get experience with the V8 engine. The circuit has a lot of slow corners for a Formula One car, although I tend to prefer the fast corners. I had a really good day and enjoyed being with the team again."

Giorgio Mondini ran a limited number of laps in the EJ15B-03 in preparation for a full day of testing tomorrow.