RB3 shows its potential at Barcelona

A productive four day test at the Circuit de Catalunya ended with David Coulthard setting the fastest time of the week on this, the final day. Backed up by a second fastest time from Mark Webber on Wednesday, this was an encouraging session for Red Bull Racing, as our three year old team attempts to fight its way up the F1 pecking order against the more established teams.

DC was first to drive on Monday, when progress was delayed by a slight off-track excursion at Turn nine, that unfortunately resulted in time lost while chassis damage was dealt with. The programme centred on aero work and testing suspension geometry, along with the inevitable tyre evaluation. Mark Webber took over for the second day, which was hit by rain, severely restricting dry track time. The rain meant the test was extended to a fourth day and so our Aussie driver was kept behind the wheel for Day three to give him some dry running. Having run chassis 03 for the first two days, the final two days saw a switch to chassis 04, which boasted a new aero update kit. Mark was able to post some competitive times before handing back to David for the final day, which saw the bulk of the tyre comparison work completed for the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix, just before the rain returned in the afternoon.

"A productive four days prior to the start of the European season," commented Chief Test Engineer, Ian Morgan. "It's always good to produce quick lap times and to be fastest, but let's wait and see how the situation evolves when we come back here for the race in two weekends' time."