Formula One: Montoya's Practice Prang Extends Nightmare Ride for Williams
July 3: Juan Pablo Montoya set back BMW Williams' efforts to regain competitive pace when he crashed in the first practice session.
Juan Pablo Montoya set back BMW Williams' efforts to regain their competitive pace when he crashed one of their heavily revised FW26 cars in the rain-soaked first practice session for tomorrow's French grand prix
It was the sort of incident Williams could have done without after a fortnight's hectic work at the factory to prepare the new car. Coming so soon after the news that Ralf Schumacher's back injuries will probably keep him out of racing for the rest of the season, they could be forgiven for cursing their luck.
The Williams test driver Marc Gene is easing himself back into race-week routine in preparation for his first outing since he deputised in last year's Italian grand prix after Schumacher's testing accident.
The new Williams has narrower radiators and revised aerodynamics; McLaren also has a heavily made-over MP4/19B for David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen, two examples of which completed more than 650 reliable laps dur ing testing last week at Jerez in southern Spain.
"Magny-Cours suits my driving style," Coulthard said, "as it is more of a technical track rather than a full-power circuit. It has a very smooth track surface and I am looking forward to racing the revised car."
It is premature to expect McLaren or Williams to be near the front of the field and, with half the season completed, there is still no indication of a serious challenger emerging to beat Michael Schumacher's Ferrari F2004.
The French track is obviously of great importance to Renault, so it was satisfying that Jarno Trulli, the Monaco grand prix winner, seemed set to be fastest in the second session - only to be pipped by Cristiano da Matta's Toyota on the very last lap.
However, Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari was faster than all of them in the first session ahead of Michael Schumacher, who in turn was slower than Da Matta's best time in the second. Anthony Davidson, the BAR-Honda test driver, was third fastest in the second session just ahead of Jenson Button.
It was the sort of incident Williams could have done without after a fortnight's hectic work at the factory to prepare the new car. Coming so soon after the news that Ralf Schumacher's back injuries will probably keep him out of racing for the rest of the season, they could be forgiven for cursing their luck.
The Williams test driver Marc Gene is easing himself back into race-week routine in preparation for his first outing since he deputised in last year's Italian grand prix after Schumacher's testing accident.
The new Williams has narrower radiators and revised aerodynamics; McLaren also has a heavily made-over MP4/19B for David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen, two examples of which completed more than 650 reliable laps dur ing testing last week at Jerez in southern Spain.
"Magny-Cours suits my driving style," Coulthard said, "as it is more of a technical track rather than a full-power circuit. It has a very smooth track surface and I am looking forward to racing the revised car."
It is premature to expect McLaren or Williams to be near the front of the field and, with half the season completed, there is still no indication of a serious challenger emerging to beat Michael Schumacher's Ferrari F2004.
The French track is obviously of great importance to Renault, so it was satisfying that Jarno Trulli, the Monaco grand prix winner, seemed set to be fastest in the second session - only to be pipped by Cristiano da Matta's Toyota on the very last lap.
However, Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari was faster than all of them in the first session ahead of Michael Schumacher, who in turn was slower than Da Matta's best time in the second. Anthony Davidson, the BAR-Honda test driver, was third fastest in the second session just ahead of Jenson Button.
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