Impossible in today’s Formula One was possible in the past of Formula One. There was a time that any time could test on any time he liked. To improve their cars, to give youngsters their first taste of Formula One, or simply to cash. Because testing was all about talent and money back in the days. Most of the drivers that tested are long forgotten or never arrived in the Formula One. As there isn’t really a database around, just bits and pieces, I started these overviews. Here are the test-drivers of 2002.
Luckily, there are a lot of test times available from the late 1990s and early 2000s. AtlasF1 is one of those sites that kept the testing times and published them on a special page dedicated to testing.
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
In 2001 Ferrari was the best team on the grid. With Michael Schumacher behind the wheel, the team won the championship again. For 2002, the signs were on green for a dominating season again for the Scuderia. In 2002, the team appeared with the F2002, though they did use for the first races of 2002 the F2001. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello were the drivers for the team.
Michael Schumacher: Tested with the Ferrari F2002.
Rubens Barrichello: Tested with the Ferrari F2002.
Luciano Burti: Tested with the Ferrari F2002.
Luca Badoer: Tested with the Ferrari F2002.
Thomas Biagi: Tested with the Ferrari F2002 on Fiorano.
Andrea Bertolini: Tested the 2nd of February with the Ferrari F2001 on Vairano. To test 2002 updates.
West McLaren Mercedes
McLaren was in 2001 the team that fought with Ferrari for the wins and the podiums. However, Ferrari was in the end the strongest team. Mika Häkkinen announced his sabbatical from the sport in 2001. It meant that McLaren had to look for a new driver. They found him in Kimi Räikkönen who joined David Coulthard as teammate. The team came with the MP4-17 on the grid powered by Mercedes.
David Coulthard: Tested with the McLaren MP4-17.
Kimi Räikkönen: Tested with the McLaren MP4-17.
Alexander Wurz: Tested with the McLaren MP4-17.
Garry Paffet: Tested with the McLaren MP4-17.
Jean Alesi: Tested with the McLaren MP4-17 the 16th of April on Mugello. His best time was a 1:23,968.
Sarah Fischer: Tested with the McLaren MP4-17 the 27th of September on Indianapolis during the free practice.
BMW Williams F1 Team
The Williams team found it’s way back to the top in the Formula One in 2001. For 2002, the team has Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya contracted as their drivers for the season. The successor was the FW24 powered by BMW. The FW24 would show it’s potential during the season with one win and several podium finishes.
Ralf Schumacher: Tested with the Williams FW24.
Juan Pablo Montoya: Tested with the Williams FW24.
Marc Gené: Tested with the Williams FW24.
Antonio Pizzonia: Tested with the Williams FW24.
Dirk Müller: Tested the 3th of December with the Williams FW24 at Barcelona. His best time was 1:21,605.
Nico Rosberg: Tested the 3th of December with the Williams FW24 at Barcelona. His best time 1:21,069.
Vitantonio Liuzzi: Tested the 27th and 28th of November with the Williams FW24 at Valencia. His best time 1:14,004.
Giorgio Pantano: Tested the 26th and 27th of November with the Williams FW24. His best time 1:13,889.
Richard Antinucci: Tested the 11th of October with the Williams FW24 at Silverstone.
Sauber Petronas
In 2002 the team from Peter Sauber appeared with the Sauber C21 on the grid, after a great season in 2001 there might have been more hopes for 2002. The Petronas V10 engine, badged Ferrari, powers the C21. Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa were the drivers. Frentzen replaced Massa for one race.
Nick Heidfeld: Tested with the Sauber C21.
Felipe Massa: Tested with the Sauber C21.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen: Tested with the Sauber C21.
DHL Jordan Honda
2001 was a disappointing year for the Irish team. With no podium finishes, the team focused on 2002. In 2002, the team lost their title sponsor Benson & Hedges while the deal with Vodafone snapped a year before. In 2002, the team appeared with the elegant EJ12 on the grid powered by the Honda V10 engine. Takuma Sato and Giancarlo Fisichella were the drivers of that year.
Takuma Sato: Tested with the Jordan EJ12.
Giancarlo Fisichella: His first test was with the Jordan EJ11. Tested with the Jordan EJ12.
Marcel Lassée: Tested with the Jordan EJ12.
Zsolt Baumgartner: Did a few demo laps with the Jordan EJ12 on the Hungaroring prior the Grand Prix.
Lucky Strike BAR Honda
After two years progression was shown by the team in 2001. The future looked bright and with changes within the management, there might be more for the team. The team appeared with the BAR004 on the grid powered by the Honda V10 engine. Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis were the drivers.
Jacques Villeneuve: Tested with the BAR004.
Olivier Panis: Tested with the BAR004.
Anthony Davidson: Tested with the BAR004.
Ryo Fukada: Tested for the first time with the BAR004 the 9th and 10th of February 2002 at Valencia. In October, he would test again for the team on Barcelona.
Patrick Lemarié: Tested for the first time with the BAR the 29th and 30th of June 2002 on Silverstone. In June and July, he tested again with the car on Jerez.
Ralph Firman: Tested with the BAR004 the 5th of December on Barcelona. His best time was a 1:21,056.
Jenson Button: Tested with the BAR004 on 13 and 14 December at Jerez. His best time was a 1:22,568.
Kosuke Matsuura: Tested with the BAR004 on 15 December at Jerez. His best time was a 1:23,149.
Dave Charlton: Did a demo with the BAR003 on the 20th of May at Valencia during the Lucky Strike Retro Project.
Mild Seven Renault F1 Team
The first year since the 1980s that Renault was back on the grid. The team purchased the Benetton team, which lost all its glamour and attraction before. Flavio Briatore contracted Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli as their drivers. The team appeared with the Renault R202 on the grid powered by the Renault V10 engine.
Jarno Trulli: Tested with the Renault R202.
Jenson Button: Tested with the Renault R202.
Fernando Alonso: Tested for the first time with the Renault R202 the 11th of January on Barcelona. His best time 1:21,430.
Olivier Gavin: Tested with the Renault R202 the 18th and 19th of October on Silverstone. His best time 1:24,781. A month later, he would test the car again on Silverstone.
Romain Dumas: Tested with the Renault R202 the third and fourth of December on Barcelona. His best time 1:21,306.
Tiago Monteiro: Tested with the Renault R202 the fourth and fifth of December on Barcelona. His best time 1:21,471.
Sébastien Bourdais: Tested with the Renault R202 the 14th and 15th of December on Jerez. His best time 1:21,750.
Franck Montagny: Tested with the Renault R202 the 13th and 15th of December on Jerez. His best time 1:22,153.
Jaguar Racing F1 Team
A similar story as that for BAR, the team showed some progression in 2001 and had the hope that 2002 would be a better year. The team encountered, since the start, with a changed management. Fore 2002, Eddie Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa were the drivers. The team came with the Jaguar R3 and later the R3B on the grid powered by the V10 Cosworth.
Eddie Irvine: Tested with the Jaguar R3.
Pedro de la Rosa: Tested with the Jaguar R3.
André Lotterer: Tested for the first time with the Jaguar R3 the 2nd of February on Barcelona. His best time 1:26,590. In May, he would test the car again on Silverstone this time.
Fernando Alonso: Tested with the Jaguar R3 the 30th of May on Silverstone. His best time 1:22,784.
James Courtney: Tested with the Jaguar R3 the 29th of May on Silverstone. His best time 1:26,638. A month later, he would test the car at Valencia.
Antonio Pizzonia: Tested with the Jaguar R3 from the 26th until the 28th of November on Barcelona. His best time 1:17,966.
Mark Webber: Tested with the Jaguar R3 from the 26th until the 28th of November on Barcelona. His best time 1:18,692.
Niki Lauda: Tested with the Jaguar R2 the 13th of January 2002 on Valencia.
Orange Arrows
The team had a disappointing season in 2001, scoring only one point they knew they had to do something. For 2002, the team came with the beautiful Arrows A23. While Jos Verstappen had a contract for 2002, Heinz-Harald Frentzen replaced him. Enrique Bernoldi stayed for another year at the team.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen: Tested with the Arrows A23.
Enrique Bernoldi: Tested with the Arrows A23.
Sébastien Bourdais: Tested with the Arrows A23 the 11th and 12th of July on Valencia. His best time 1:13,217.
KL Minardi Asiatech
The team started 2002 with some financial struggles. Stoddart even went so far to go to the court, as he did not agree on the decision to sell the Prost Grand Prix assets to Tom Walkinshaw. Gabriele Tredozi and Loïc Bigois designed the PS02. The car was powered by the unreliable Asiatech V10. The previous Peugeot engines.
Mark Webber: Tested with the PS02.
Alex Yoong: Tested with the PS02.
Anthony Davidson: Tested with the PS02.
David Saelens: Tested with the PS02 the 3th of September on Monza. Best time 1:35,149s. Funny story. He was promised in 2001 after the Minardi days a test in early 2002.
2002 Minardi-European PS01
Paul Stoddart: Drove/Tested with the PS01 during the Thunder in the Park 2 on Donington.
Paul Stoddart: Drove/Tested with the PS01 during the Minardi day the 27th of October on Imola.
2002 Minardi-European PS01B
As the new challenger, the PS02, was not ready yet a couple of drivers tested with the PS01B. The car had some new additions on the car that would appear on the PS02. It seems the team used the PS01B during the season for testing. For me it is a bit unclear why.
Mark Webber: Tested with the hybrid PS01B the 16th and 17th of January on Jerez. Best time 1:16,133s.
Christijan Albers: Tested with the hybrid PS01B the 16th and 17th of January on Jerez. Best time 1:17,620s.
Antonio Garcia: Tested with the hybrid PS01 the 16th of January on Jerez. Best time 1:17,794s.
Alex Yoong: Tested with the hybrid PS01B the 15th and 16th of January on Jerez. Best time 1:17,800s.
Matteo Bobbi: Tested with the hybrid PS01B the 15th and 16th of January on Jerez. Best time 1:18,105s. He would again 27th of October, best time 1:16,469s
Jirko Malchárek: Was assigned as one of Minardi’s test drivers in 2002. He did some testing with the PS01B during the season.
Franck Montagny: Tested with the Minardi PS01B, with the PS02 livery, the 26th of November on Valencia. Best time 1:17,043s.
Sergei Zlobin: Tested with the Minardi PS01, with PS02 livery, the 26th and 27th of October on Jerez. Best time 1:19,750s.
Bryan Herta: Tested with the PS01B the weekend of 9 August on Donington during the Thunder In The Park 2.
Justin Wilson: Tested with the PS01B the weekend of 9 August on Donington during the Thunder In The Park 2.
Tested with the PS01B the weekend of 9 August on Donington during the Thunder In The Park 2.
Giorgio Pantano: Tested with the Minardi PS01 the weekend of 9 August on Donington during the Thunder in the Park 2.
Panasonic Toyota Racing
After two years of intensive testing the Toyota team made its debut on the grid in 2002. The TF102 was the result of all the testing. While the team was spending a lot of money, the results were minor that season. Mika Salo and Allan McNish were the drivers.
Mika Salo: Tested with the Toyota TF102.
Allan McNish: Tested with the Toyota TF102.
Cristiano da Matta: Tested with the Toyota TF102.
Ryan Briscoe: Tested with the Toyota TF102.
Stéphane Sarrazin: Tested with the Toyota TF102. He tested also the Toyota TF102B, which was modified to fit the 2003 engine. Tested four days on Paul Ricard.
Olivier Panis: Tested with the Toyota TF102
Toranosuke Takagi: Tested with the Toyota TF102 the 16th of May on Paul Ricard. Best time 1:15,082.
Helio Castroneves: Tested with the Toyota TF102 in September 2002 on Paul Ricard.
Renault B201
Prior the Renault 202 the team used the Benetton B201 to do some additional testing. The car appeared in a white yellow colour scheme. Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso tested with the car.
Phoenix Grand Prix
This is a strange one and probably does not to be in the list. There are rumours going on since the team announced they “purchased” the Prost Grand Prix team that their car has been tested on Silverstone. The car, the AP04B with the Arrows X3 rear, was fitted with the Arrows V8 engine.
Tomáš Enge is the name of the driver that seemed to have tested the car.
