F1 testing at Paul Ricard circuit from January 15 to 21, 1991, with 10 teams present (AGS, Arrows, Ferrari, Jordan, Leyton House, Ligier, Minardi, Fondmetal (still with the 1990 Osella), Scuderia Italia/Dallara & Williams) although in this video we don't see Williams.
Here's what Autosport (January 25, 1991) write about the test: Nigel Mansell topped the timesheets during last week's Paul Ricard testing. Also impressive was the new Ferrari 642.
Ferrari had three cars at Ricard: a 642, a standard 641/2 and an active suspension 641/2. Both Alain Prost and Jean Alesi used Goodyear qualifiers on the 642, Alain setting a time of 1m02.85s - just 0.25 second slower than Mansell's best.
Ferrari, however was not without problems, as there were three engine failures.
The team's controlled suspension system was tried by both drivers with Prost recording a best of 1m06.05s and Alesi 1m07.29s, set in the standard 641/2, running on qualifiers. The drivers reported that the 642 was easier to drive than the 641/2.
Fourth fasted was Pierluigi martini in his Ferrari-engined Minardi M191. The team had serious clutch problems early on, but on Friday, using qualifiers, Martini recorded a best of 1m05.06s. Gianni Morbidelli had to make do with his time from Wednesday and was only ninth quickest.
One of the most impressive performances came from Bertrand Gachot in the Jordan-Ford 911. The team spent considerable time finding a good set-up, but Gachot's 1m05.40s best was set on race tyres. However, the team was using 1990 configuration wings, which will have given Bert an advantage.
Another man to impress was Erik Comas, the sole representative for Ligier. Using a Ligier JS33C with 1991 wings, the Formula 3000 Champion set a time of 1m06.50s.
Ivan Capelli recorded some remarkable trap figures with his Ilmor-engined CG901, but the team ran into problems with the transverse gearbox which restricted Ivan to a best of 1m07.07s.
Scuderia Italia was putting miles on its new BMS191, with Emanuele Pirro lapping in 1m08.90s on Wednesday. On Friday he handed the car over to JJ Letho, who had been working with a Judd V10-engined BMS190 up to that point. JJ crashed heavily on his first lap and damaged the car beyond immediate repair.
Another man to have a large accident was Gabriele Tarquini, who suffered a rear end failure and hit the wall hard. The AGS team packed up and returned to its nearby base.
Of the rest, the Footwork-Porsche team was in trouble with connecting-rod bearing breakages. The team left Ricard on Friday afternoon.
Paul Ricard testing (January 15-21)
Nigel Mansell (Williams-Renault) 1m02.60
Alain Prost (Ferrari) 1m02.85
Jean Alesi (Ferrari) 1m03.59
Pierluigi Martini (Minardi-Ferrari) 1m05.06
Bertrand Gachot (Jordan-Ford) 1m05.40
Riccardo Patrese (Williams-Renault) 1m06.40
Erik Comas (Ligier-DFR) 1m06.50
Ivan Capelli (Leyton House-Ilmor) 1m07.07
Gianni Morbidelli (Minardi-Ferrari) 1m07.88
Olivier Grouillard (Fondmetal/Osella-DFR) 1m08.70
Emanuele Pirro (Dallara-Judd) 1m08.90
Gabriele Tarquini (AGS-DFR) 1m09.20
JJ Letho (Dallara-Judd) 1m09.34
Michele Alboreto (Arrows-Porsche) 1m09.80
Alex Caffi (Arrows-Porsche) 1m10.50
14 янв 2023
