Badoer Injured while testing for Minardi

During Minardi's testing yesterday at Fiorano, Luca Badoer badly injured his arm. The Italian driver went off the track at the 49th lap due to a failure on the drive-by-wire system, dashing against the crash barriers.

In the impact, the driver suffered a small fracture to his right hand and was taken to the Modena’s clinic. After an immediate medical check, Dr. Claudio Castagnetti decided it would be advisable to undergo a small operation in order to reduce the recovery time.

The Team has decided to suspend the test session scheduled for today at the Mugello with Luca Badoer and will eventually test only on Tuesday with Marc Gene.

Testing continues for Ferrari

Following their previous testing programme in Barcelona, the team moved further south to Jerez for the weekend where Schumacher ran 55 laps on Saturday with a best of 1m 26,201 secs. Irvine set a best of 1m 26,940 secs on Saturday after running a total of 94 laps.

On Sunday Irvine ran 98 laps including a simulated race with two pit stops and a best lap of 1m 25,887 secs. Schumacher was unable to complete more than 47 laps after delays caused by a broken fuel pump and electronic problems with the gearbox. Throughout the test the drivers were working on different chassis set-ups and aerodynamic balance.

Last Wednesday was a big day for Schumacher who became a father for the second time with the birth of a son, probably to be called Michael Jr. Following the birth during the early hours of the morning, Michael went to Fiorano and drove 93 laps with a best of 1m 02,95 secs before getting down to 1m 01,58 secs the following day, a new lap record for the F399 chassis.

By the end of the week's testing Schumacher was very optimistic: "The car goes much better and we have improved our knowledge of it," said Schumacher.

Ferrari continued testing up to the weekend and now run further tests in Mugello. Depending on how the Mugello tests go, the team will make a decision about the possibility of more tests before the Brazilian GP.

McLaren test in secret in Jerez

The McLaren-Mercedes team began testing in Jerez on Thursday and Friday in private, the team revealing no information about the progress of the tests. Two cars are taking part in the test which have apparently been hampered by heavy rain and high winds.

Only two days of testing for Williams

Following the late return of their cars from Australia the Williams team missed both the Barcelona and Magny Cours tests. However, they plan to take part in three days of testing in Barcelona on March 30th through April 1st before shipping the cars to Brazil.

Jordan in Magny Cours and Lurcy-Levis

Hill and Frentzen completed two days of testing in Magny Cours last week on Tuesday and Wednesday. The day remained wet throughout Tuesday which allowed the team to work on different wet set-ups which might prove useful in Brazil. Hill was delayed by a spin and gearbox trouble and then finished his test early after another spin damaged the under-tray of his car. His best lap had been a 1m 28,86 secs.

Frentzen had a trouble free day running a heavy fuel load and different configurations to record a best of 1m 28,49 secs. After morning fog had cleared on Wednesday the sun quickly dried the track before lunch time and both drivers completed a good day's testing with Hill running 102 laps for a best of 1m 18,15 secs . Frentzen lost time with gearbox problems in the afternoon but set a week's best time of 1m 18,03 secs in the closing minutes of practice after trying various new aerodynamic modifications to the car. "It was a very positive test in which we continued to discover a lot more about the car which will hopefully stand us in good stead for Brazil," said Frentzen.

At the end of the two days the team moved a few miles down the road to Lurcy Levis where a test driver carried out some aerodynamic evaluation on the circuit long straight.

Sauber take one car to Magny Cours

The Sauber team took just one car to Magny Cours where Jean Alesi drove it on Tuesday relayed by Pedro Diniz the second day. The idea was to eliminate gearbox unreliability, but one again Alesi was stopped short after just 33 laps because of gearbox trouble. "At least I was able to drive the C18 for the first time on Bridgestone wet tyres," commented Alesi.

Despite the problems the engineers were optimistic about the test as they say they have finally pin-pointed the problem with their gearbox. Diniz drove 43 laps on Wednesday and set a best time of 1m 20,79 secs.

Prost test in Magny Cours

The Prost team continued their test programme in Magny Cours where Olivier Panis set the fastest time in the wet on Tuesday at 1m 28,44 secs after a hundred laps. Trulli ran 72 laps and set the third fastest time of the day with a 1m 28,59 secs. Both drivers worked on wet set-ups designed to improve barking stability and traction.

On Wednesday Panis ran another 98 laps, half of which were run on the damp morning conditions before the track had fully dried out. He worked on mechanical and aerodynamic set-ups for Brazil and practiced two full race pit stops with a best time for the day of 1m 18,59 secs. Trulli completed 73 laps with a heavy fuel load for most of the day working on pit stops and chassis set-up with a long run focussing on reliability. He set a best time of 1m 19,69 secs. The Prost team also plan to take part in the Barcelona test at the end of March just before shipping the cars to Brazil.