After a long break, Ralf Schumacher returned to work with the BMW WilliamsF1 Team and immediately demonstrated that he has lost none of his pace. Yesterday morning's test at Silverstone got underway in typically British weather conditions, the Northamptonshire track being battered by high winds and rain. Later the sun made a brief appearance and the track dried out, however there were a number of minor showers during the afternoon.
After a break of almost three months, the result of a horrific crash during the United States GP, in which he suffered concussion and two factures to his spine, BMW WilliamsF1 Team driver Ralf Schumacher was finally back behind the wheel of a WilliamsF1 BMW FW26.
Clearly, the long recovery process has not affected the German's pace, for he ended the first day of testing topping the timesheets, over a second faster than his nearest rival.
Ralf was joined by Marc Gene, who replaced the German in the French and British Grands Prix.
Both drivers concentrated on tyres in the morning, testing intermediates for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team's tyre partner, Michelin. In the afternoon, Ralf and Marc worked on set-ups.
Neither driver experienced any problems. Ralf, who felt highly motivated on his return, completed 32 laps, posting a best time of, 1:18.015, while Marc, who mostly ran in the wet, completed 33 laps, with a best time of, 1:32.062.
Ralf Schumacher: “I couldn’t be happier with today’s test. The most important thing was that I had no back pain at all, which helped me feel confident and push hard. Finishing the quickest today makes me feel very positive and I am also delighted with how the car has progressed since the middle of the season. I got up to speed very quickly and I was pleased to find that I could get the most out of the car’s developments.“ POS. DRIVER TEAM TIME LAPS 1. R. Schumacher BMW WilliamsF1 Team 01:18.015 32 2. A. Wurz West McLaren Mercedes 01:19.088 40 3. A. Davidson Lucky Strike B.A.R. Honda 01:19.370 66 4. O. Panis Panasonic Toyota Racing 01:19.528 57 5. J. Button Lucky Strike B.A.R. Honda 01:19.558 43 6. P. de la Rosa West McLaren Mercedes 01:19.635 49 7. F. Alonso Mild Seven Renault F1 Team 01:19.725 60 8. R. Zonta Panasonic Toyota Racing 01:19.991 47 9. T. Glock Benson+Hedges Jordan-Ford 01:22.241 51 10. F. Montagny Mild Seven Renault F1 Team 01:30.484 20 11. M. Gene BMW WilliamsF1 Team 01:32.062 33
