Very close results at Valencia

Today’s results at Valencia were extremely close between the five teams present at the Spanish track.Heikki Kovalainen achieved the best time of the day at the wheel of his Renault R26, only a few tenths of a second better than the other Renault driver, Giancarlo Fisichella.
The rest of the field – except for MF1 test driver Adrian Sutil who had to settle for last year's EJ15B – was separated by very small gaps.
A good sign for Red Bull and Williams, who had at least one driver each within one tenth of a second of Kimi Raikkonen’s best lap.

Valencia - 16/02/06
1. H. Kovalainen - Renault R26 - 1'10"631 (+0"000) - 141 laps
2. G. Fisichella - Renault R26 - 1'10"930 (+0"299) - 119 laps
3. K. Raikkonen - McLaren Mercedes - 1'11"173 (+0"542) - 71 laps
4. J.P. Montoya - McLaren Mercedes - 1'11"188 (+0"557) - 49 laps
5. D. Coulthard - Red Bull Ferrari RB2 - 1'11"216 (+0"585) - 71 laps
6. N. Rosberg - Williams Cosworth FW28 - 1'11"232 (+0"601) - 77 laps
7. A. Wurz - Williams Cosworth FW28 - 1'12"229 (+1"598) - 116 laps
8. C. Albers - MF1 Racing M16 - 1'12"767 (+2"136) - 50 laps
9. A. Sutil - MF1 Racing EJ15B - 1'17"912 (+7"281) - 28 laps

Williams stay on top in Spain

Second day of testing this week at the Valencia circuit in Spain. Despite feeling sick (food poisoning), Nico Rosberg set the fastest lap, followed by Kimi Raikkonen and Heikki Kovalainen.McLaren encountered more technical problems today, both Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya were momentarily stopped on the track during the session.

Valencia – 15/02/2006
1. N. Rosberg Williams FW28 1'10"994 -- 94 laps
2. K. Raikkonen McLaren MP4-21 1'11"199 +0"205 16 laps
3. H. Kovalainen Renault R26 1'11"362 +0"368 115 laps
4. G. Fisichella Renault R26 1'11"443 +0"449 83 laps
5. C. Klien Red Bull RB2 1'11"544 +0"550 63 laps
6. M. Webber Williams FW28 1'11"584 +0"590 33 laps
7. J. Montoya McLaren MP4-21 1'12"462 +1"468 85 laps
8. C. Albers MF1 Racing M16 1'12"916 +1"922 64 laps
9. D. Coulthard Red Bull RB2 1'13"585 +2"591 14 laps
10. R. Doornbos Red Bull RB2 1'14"643 +3"649 44 laps
11. G. Mondini MF1 Racing EJ15B 1'14"646 +3"652 84 laps

Mosley opens window for 2008

FIA president Max Mosley has told Formula One teams that they will have a 10-day window of opportunity next month in which to commit to the 2008 championship, or risk losing their place on the grid.

Speaking in London yesterday, Mosley said he hoped the manufacturers threatening to form a breakaway championship when the Concorde Agreement expires at the end of 2007 would commit to the series. But he warned the five Grand Prix Manufacturers’ Association teams – BWM Sauber, Honda, McLaren Mercedes, Renault and Toyota - that they would not be guaranteed one of the 12 entries if they fail to sign-up in time.

The entry window is expected to open on March 23 2006, closing 10 days later, so that the deadline for 2008 regulations can be observed by the end of June.

So far only six teams - Ferrari, Williams, Midland F1, Red Bull, Scuderia Torro Rosso and Super Aguri - have committed to the new 2008 Concorde Agreement, though some of the so-called ‘rebels’ have indicated that they would be prepared to follow suit if it was possible to compete on a budget of around £100m per year. Current levels of expenditure by the top teams exceeds that by a factor of three or even four.

SUPER AGURI DRIVER LINE

SUPER AGURI FORMULA 1 is delighted to announce that Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide will be the team’s race drivers for the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship.
Takuma joins SUPER AGURI FORMULA 1 from the Honda Racing F1 Team where he achieved eighth position in the 2004 Drivers’ Championship with 34 points, helping the team to complete the season in second place in the Constructors’ Championship.