Yesterday, several teams were working on their ...

Published on 04 February 1998 by Verstappen Info Page

Yesterday, several teams were working on their test program again. In Barcelona, Hakkinen was fastest in 1:22.95, not surprising since he drove with the 1997 chassis. Their new car will be presented tomorrow afternoon, which can also be followed via their web site. Takagi did very well. He drove a fastest lap time of 1:26.17, faster then Hill and Nakano, and only 1 sec behind Villeneuve. In Magny Cours the Prost team did their laps. Olivier Panis drove with 1:20.67 ca 6 secs slower then last year. In Mugello the Ferrari team suffered lots of rain. Michael Schumacher completed 40 laps with a fastest lap time of 1:41.23.

The FIA equipped last season all Formula 1 cars with so called Accident Data Recorders. The results showed that the highest impacts were between a car and barriers which were close to the track. In total 5 impacts above 30g were recorded of which the highest was 44.8 g. The FIA will use the data with the aim of developing a method for predicting the severity and trajectory of potential impacts. The ADR will be improved for 1998 and also fitted in all cars.