Bahrain - Monday - Testing
Formula One testing began at Bahrain International Circuit, with the three teams present: Scuderia Ferrari, Honda F1 Racing Team and Scuderia Toro Rosso, all making the most of the track time available.
The 2006 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix on March 10-12 marks the start of the forthcoming FIA Formula One World Championship, and the teams have been acclimatising their cars and drivers in readiness for the ‘desert Grand Prix.’

Scuderia Ferrari
Felipe Massa, the 24-year-old Brazilian who starts his first season as a Ferrari race driver at the 2006 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, put in considerable mileage with the team’s new Ferrari 248 F1 car. He was joined by the team’s Italian test driver Luca Badoer in the Ferrari F2004 fitted with a restricted 3.0 V10 engine.

Honda F1 Racing Team
Honda is preparing for its official racing return as a racing car constructor at the 2006 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, Honda’s regular test driver Anthony Davidson was joined by his junior team mate and fellow Briton James Rossiter to prepare the new Honda RA106 cars for race drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello to run during tomorrow’s test at Bahrain International Circuit.

Scuderia Toro Rosso
The newly-formed team, jointly owned by Red Bull and Formula One legend Gerhard Berger, ran its RB1 Cosworth with American newcomer Scott Speed, who makes his Formula One debut at the 2006 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. This team is unique in the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship in running with a restricted 3-litre V10 engine rather than the new 2.4-litre V8 as will be used by the other 10 teams.

Bahrain – 13/02/2006
01 L. Badoer Ferrari F2004 V10 1`32``297 -- 77 laps
02 A. Davidson Honda RA106 1`32``571 +0``274 114 laps
03 J. Rossiter Honda RA106 1`32``864 +0``567 68 laps
04 F. Massa Ferrari 248 F1 1`32``952 +0``655 51 laps
05 S. Speed Toro R. RB1 1`34``280 +1``983 82 laps

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