TBK-Light.com

Lol, I was going to say that Toyota looks really good

Yeah looks good with that "clean" look.

Dominic Harlow, chief race and test engineer:
"Today's programme very much followed on from yesterday's schedule, with Adrian evaluating set-up options and wing levels for the Italian Grand Prix. We also tested some development items on the rear suspension, brakes and set-ups for the kerbs, which are quite violent particularly at the Roggia chicane.
We completed a lot of laps today, the equivalent running of a race weekend Saturday and Sunday, which will be good preparation for the Italian Grand Prix."

Adrian Sutil:
"Today was quite a good day. I felt comfortable in the car and we could do a lot of laps and found some items that will help us move forward and prepare for the race here. We had some work to do to find a good set-up that works over the kerbs and in the slow corners without losing time on braking or on the straights, and also trying to get a good set-up with the inertia dampers. We made some good steps forward that will also help us at next week's Belgian Grand Prix, so I am happy and feel quite prepared for these coming races."

It was a half-day of work today for both Toro Rosso drivers present at Monza, with Sebastian Vettel carrying on from yesterday during the morning before Sebastien Bourdais took over in the afternoon.

Vettel concentrated on Italian Grand Prix preparation, working on car set-up and carrying out a comparison of the two types of Bridgestone tyre that will be available for the race. He also evaluated different brake materials.

As planned, Bourdais had a shorter session as the engine was due to reach its distance limit before the end of the day. Therefore he carried out just two runs to get a feel for the car in its Monza configuration before successfully tackling a long run until the engine limit was reached.


Vettel signed the fourth-quickest time today, while Bourdais' ninth-fastest result was achieved while working on different objectives.

Bourdais continues Friday, when he will tackle a full day of race preparation.

With the sun shining throughout at the Monza circuit, today Nick Heidfeld concentrated on setup work with regards to the Italian Grand Prix.

While working on the low downforce configuration for the race at the same venue next month, the team tried different aerodynamic solutions. Heidfeld set the fastest time today with a best lap of 1:22.621.

Running without major technical problems Heidfeld also sampled the tyre options for the Italian round of the championship. Again the team made good progress, concluding Heidfeld's part of the Monza test.


For the last day of the Monza test tomorrow Robert Kubica will be at the wheel of the BMW Sauber F1.08. Setup work for the Italian Grand Prix will be his main focus.

Jarno Trulli:
"It was a productive day working through the usual things for Monza, where I hope we can maintain the form that we have been showing and which has taken us to fourth place in the Constructors' Championship.
We concentrated mainly on the important things for this track, which are an efficient aerodynamic set-up, good braking feel and the need to feel comfortable over the kerbs. I'm satisfied with progress."

Gerd Pfeiffer, Test Team Manager:
"We carried on with the programme that we started yesterday, concentrating on set-up and tyre work and doing more experimentation with the brakes and brake balance. That was the main thrust of the schedule, it all went to plan, we didn't run with low fuel and we achieved everything we were aiming at. We changed an engine but that was for homologation purposes and was scheduled."

The combined test for all ten Formula 1 teams continued today at Monza, in preparation for the final races of the season, especially the Italian Grand Prix that takes place at this circuit on 14th September.

For the second day in a row, Felipe Massa was at the wheel of an F2008. The Brazilian driver continued working on the aerodynamic package specific to this track, as well as fine tuning the set-up on the car. Felipe ended his day having completed 86 laps, the quickest in a time of 1.23.445.

"We are putting a lot of effort into finding the right settings on the car for this track," commented Felipe. "On top of that, we are obviously paying careful attention to reliability and the way the car behaves over the Monza kerbs, an aspect of the package that saw us in difficulty last year. I think we are working well, even if we will only have the first real confirmation of this after qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix."

Dickie Stanford, Test Team Manager, Williams F1:
“Nico was back in the cockpit today and completed 100 laps of the Monza track with no mechanical problems. The team spent the session continuing set-up preparations for the Italian Grand Prix. Kazuki will join us this evening to take over from Nico tomorrow.”

Date: Thursday August 28 2008
Drivers: Heikki Kovalainen
Location: Monza
Track Length: 5.793km
Weather: Hot and sunny once again. Maximum track temp 51.7 °C; maximum ambient temp 30.2°C
Laps run today: 92
Kilometres covered today: 533km
Best lap time today: 1m23.341 at 12:01pm
Programme: Continuation of yesterday’s programme; to wit, the evaluation of the Monza-spec low-downforce aero package. Today, Heikki also concentrated on longer runs and tried out both the option and prime tyre.

In Italy today, Mark Webber continued where he left off yesterday, with development work on the Monza-specific aerodynamic package. The work accomplished in the morning produced plenty of useful data.

In the afternoon, the focus switched to evaluating various different set-ups on the car, including running a suspension comparison test.

The car ran reliably all day, with the engine completing its permissible maximum mileage. At the controls of the RB4, Webber was eighth-fastest amongst the dozen drivers at the track.

"These have been a couple of useful days, preparing not just for the Italian Grand Prix, but also the other races, starting with Spa.
The team, including the Renault crew, did a good job and we got through a lot of work," Webber reported.

"In terms of data, I'd say the first day produced more useful information than today, but overall a good test and I'm now looking forward to Belgium," he added.

David Coulthard takes over behind the wheel for the final day tomorrow.