Albers suffers mechanical problem at Barcelona

On the second day of its three day test programme at the Circuit de Catalunya, near Barcelona, Spain, the Spyker Formula One Team continued to work on optimising set-up and collecting tyre data in preparation for next month's Australian Grand Prix. In the afternoon the team's race drivers, Christijan Albers and Adrian Sutil, also conducted race simulations. While Adrian completed a full race distance, Christijan's running was however limited by a minor mechanical problem.

Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer, commented, "We had a reasonably productive day, working on the basic set-up and building up speed over a race distance. Adrian had no issues during the day, however Christijan's car developed a hydraulic leak that cut his race run short. It's not a major issue though and we should be back out tomorrow. This morning was a bit cooler and we had some problems trying to get the tyres to work, but we've got a handle on how to better the situation."

Christijan Albers completed 493km with a best time of 1min 23.07, "Today I think we did OK, we're pushing flat out to get some more performance from the car and the tyres. We still need to get some higher temperatures in the tyres so we can make some big progress in the set-up. We have already made some steps though and tomorrow we'll be continuing the same programme - it's full on now."

Adrian Sutil, who covered 109 laps, added, "We carried on with the set-up work today, but it was difficult at times to find a good balance. We did some qualifying work and concentrated especially on longer runs and a race simulation in the afternoon. I feel I'm getting closer to the limit now and improving myself as well as the car."

The team will continue its programme tomorrow, the final day of the three-day test, working on performance and set-up for Melbourne.