1998 April-May Barcelona Test

The 1998 April-May Barcelona Test was a mid-season Formula One test taking place shortly after the 1998 San Marino Grand Prix and right before the 1998 Spanish Grand Prix hosted at the exact same circuit. The test took place over four days with all the teams with the exception of participating in the test.
==Driver running order==
Team	Car 	Day 1 (Tue) 	Day 2 (Wed) 	Day 3 (Thu) 	Day 4 (Fri) 	
 	FW20 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	Jacques Villeneuve 	Jacques Villeneuve 	
 	F300 	Luca Badoer 	Michael Schumacher / Eddie Irvine 	Michael Schumacher / Eddie Irvine 	Michael Schumacher / Eddie Irvine 	
 	B198 	Alexander Wurz 	Alexander Wurz / Giancarlo Fisichella	Alexander Wurz 	Alexander Wurz 	
 	MP4-13 	Mika Häkkinen / David Coulthard 	Mika Häkkinen / David Coulthard 	Mika Häkkinen / David Coulthard 	Mika Häkkinen / David Coulthard 	
 	198 	Ralf Schumacher / Pedro de la Rosa	Ralf Schumacher / Damon Hill 	Ralf Schumacher / Damon Hill 	Damon Hill / Juichi Wakasaki 	Damon Hill / Juichi Wakasaki
 	AP01 	Olivier Panis 	Olivier Panis 	Jarno Trulli 	Jarno Trulli 	
 	C17 	Jean Alesi 	Jean Alesi / Jörg Müller 	Jean Alesi / Johnny Herbert 	Jean Alesi / Johnny Herbert 	
 	Did not attend	Did not attend 	Did not attend 	Did not attend 	Did not attend 	
 	SF02 	Did not attend 	Rubens Barrichello / Jan Magnussen 	Rubens Barrichello / Jan Magnussen 	Rubens Barrichello 	
 	026 	Toranosuke Takagi 	Ricardo Rosset 	Toranosuke Takagi 	Did not attend 	
 	M198 	Did not attend 	Shinji Nakano / Laurent Rédon 	Shinji Nakano / Esteban Tuero / Laurent Rédon	Shinji Nakano / Esteban Tuero / Laurent Rédon	
==Overview==
===Report===
====Day 1====
The first day of the Barcelona test saw the 's leading the timesheets with Mika Häkkinen setting the fastest time with a 1.22.85 ahead of teammate David Coulthard. Häkkinen completed a total of 69 laps whilst Coulthard completed 72 for McLaren. Häkkinen experienced a few slight hitches throughout the day suffering from a slight engine problem in the morning as well as a hydraulic problem in the afternoon. The two driver's would use the test as an emphasis on development for the Bridgestone tyres.
 only ran their test driver Luca Badoer on the first day of the test, Michael Schumacher was originally scheduled to drive alongside Badoer but after catching a bout of flu, Schumacher opted to sit out the first day of the test. Badoer was eighth fastest, concentrating on set-up and Goodyear tyre tests.
After his large accident in the San Marino Grand Prix, Giancarlo Fisichella opted to sit out the first day of the test and rest, this meant Alexander Wurz was the only car running on the first day. Wurz completed a total of 48 laps concentrating on set-up work.
Olivier Panis was the third fastest driver of the day in his , Panis concentrating on tyre testing as well as assessing new aerodynamic parts to replace the now banned 'x-wing' devices on the cars. 
 were the only team other than McLaren to run two cars on the first day, the team ran race driver Ralf Schumacher and test driver Pedro de la Rosa on the first day of the test. The two drivers concentrating on set-up work. 
 driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen completed the most mileage out of anyone on the first day, completing a total of 78 laps. Frentzen concentrated on tyre testing as well as evaluating a few minor chassis changes.
Jean Alesi was only able to complete 38 laps in his on the first day before he suffered an engine failure, putting an end to his day. Alesi had been focussing on tyre and aerodynamic development.
Toranosuke Takagi completed the least amount of mileage of the driver's, testing a new braking system for he was only able to complete 23 laps of the circuit.
==Times==
===Day One, 28 April===
Pos.	Driver 	Team	Car 	Tyres	Time 	Gap 	Laps
1 	Mika Häkkinen 	 	MP4-13	 	1:22.82	 	69
2 	David Coulthard 	 	MP4-13	 	1:23.32	+0.50s	72
3 	Olivier Panis 	 	AP01 	 	1:23.60	+0.78s	43
4 	Alexander Wurz 	 	B198 	 	1:23.82	+0.97s	48
5 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	198 	 	1:24.19	+1.34s	82
6 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	 	FW20 	 	1:24.25	+1.43s	78
7 	Jean Alesi 	 	C17 	 	1:24.32	+1.50s	38
8 	Luca Badoer 	 	F300 	 	1:24.62	+1.80s	71
9 	Pedro de la Rosa 	 	198 	 	1:25.05	+2.23s	58
10 	Toranosuke Takagi 	 	026 	 	1:26.12	+3.30s	23
===Day Two, 29 April===
Pos.	Driver 	Team	Car 	Tyres	Time 	Gap 	Laps
1 	 David Coulthard 	 	MP4-13	 	​1:22.84	​ 	​unknown
2 	Mika Häkkinen 	 	MP4-13	 	1:22.88	+0.40s	unknown
3 	Michael Schumacher 	 	F300 	 	1:23.26	+0.42s	​unknown
4 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	 	FW20 	 	1:23.93	​+1.09s	​52
5 	Jean Alesi 	 	C17 	 	1:23.95	+1.11s	​unknown
6 	Damon Hill 	 	198 	 	​1:24.21	+1.37s	​87
7 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	B198 	 	1:24.22	​+1.38s	​unknown
8 	Alexander Wurz 	 	B198 	 	​1:24.24	+1.40s	​37
9 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	198 	 	1:24.37	+1.53s	​90
10 	Toranosuke Takagi 	 	026 	 	1:24.49	+1.65s	​unknown
11 	Olivier Panis 	 	AP01 	 	1:24.51	+1.67s	​unknown
12 	Eddie Irvine 	 	F300 	 	1:24.71	+1.87s	​unknown
13 	 Jörg Müller 	 	C17 	 	1:24.77	+1.93s	​33
14 	Johnny Herbert 	 	C17 	 	1:25.35	+2.51s	13
15 	Shinji Nakano 	 	M198 	 	1:25.87	+3.05s	​unknown
16 	Ricardo Rosset 	 	026 	 	1:25.90	+3.06s	​unknown
17 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	SF02 	 	1:25.97	+3.13s	​unknown
18 	Jan Magnussen 	 	SF02 	 	1:25.99	+3.15s	​unknown
19 	Esteban Tuero 	 	M198 	 	1:26.87	+4.03s	​unknown
Category:Mid-season testing