Luca Badoer set the pace at the Bahrain International Circuit on Monday, as
Ferrari, Honda and Scuderia Toro Rosso turned their back on the usual Spanish tracks for the warmer weather in the Middle East.
Badoer completed 77 laps in total in an F2004 fitted with a restricted V10. His best lap was a 1 minute 32.297 seconds, around three tenths up on
Anthony Davidson, who was second for
Honda.
"I am very pleased that we have come to the Bahrain International Circuit as it is an ideal track to prepare for the season," said Badoer. "The asphalt is very good and once it has been cleaned of the sand, the track conditions remain very consistent for the rest of the session. This is a very important test for us because we can practice in the same conditions we will have at the first race of the season."
Davidson meanwhile had a 'productive morning' in the RA106, according to the official Honda F1 website, focusing on set-up and balance, a programme he continued in the afternoon as well as running some tyre tests for Michelin. Honda's ‘Young Development Driver', James Rossiter was third, on his first run in the new RA106. Like Davidson he spent much of the day concentrating on set-up, as well as doing a short aerodynamic evaluation.
Felipe Massa was next up, just breaking into the 1min 32sec bracket, in the Ferrari 248
F1. The Brazilian - like his team-mate, Badoer - spent the day fine-tuning the car and conducting tyre tests for
Bridgestone.
The only other runner on track was
Scott Speed for
Scuderia Toro Rosso. The American running in the RB1, as their wasn't time for the team to ship the
STR 1 after its first run in
Jerez last week. Speed spent the morning working on general set-up, looking at elements such as ride height and aero balance.
