Sunny weather gave Michael Schumacher the opportunity to try the
F2004 for the first time on Friday at Fiorano.
La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that he completed
34 laps, recording a best time of 56.835 seconds, an improvement
over the 57.045 recorded by the F2003 GA on its debut and only
half a second off the ultimate lap record.
On Saturday he completed 100 laps without any particular problem
and broke the track record with a 56.279, which bodes well for
the future. The team tried a number of modifications, mostly
aerodynamic. Testing continues on Sunday.
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Schumacher said on Friday "I am quite happy
with the first testing day of our new car. I immediately had a
feeling for it. The F2004 was handling very well straight out
of the box and we achieved good and consistent lap times".
Earlier in the week, he broke the lap record at
Valencia in an F2003 GA, ending up second to new Williams test
driver Antonio Pizzonia in an FW25.
