Testing kicked off at a chilly Jerez circuit on Wednesday morning, with the GPDA understood to have shelved its threats of a boycott after an inspection of safety improvements.
The Cologne based team’s new test driver Franck Montagny strolled the pitlane in plain black overalls after receiving a late call to test for Toyota.
Red Bull’s Michael Ammermuller was also spotted in the paddock and in action on the southern Spanish tarmac, as the German hit the headlines with news of his GP2 contract for 2007.
He will race for Nicolas Todt’s ‘ART’ team.
Another notable face at Jerez – alongside regular runners for Ferrari, BMW-Sauber, Toro Rosso, McLaren and Renault – was F3 driver and Japanese debutant Kohei Hirate, getting his first run for Toyota.
Williams’ Nico Rosberg is also back in action, and he told the news agency Sport-Informations-Dienst that he thought the switch to Toyota would not be a silver bullet for the beleaguered team.
“It will surely be a good engine, and reliable, but I do not believe that it is a huge jump over the Cosworth.
“However, we had to look elsewhere.”
GMMF1
DailyF1News.com