Less than 36 hours after completing the pack-up following the Turkish Grand Prix, the Midland Formula 1 Racing team began a three-day, pre-race test at Autdromo Nazionale Monza in Italy where the M16 ran in a full low-downforce configuration with Giorgio Mondini behind the wheel. The Silverstone based squad’s test driver completed a total of 70 laps, 401 kilometres, to record a best time of 1:25.50

"There is a lot of groundwork to do at a test like this, like checking the predictions from the wind tunnel for the Monza aero package, and verifying the brake cooling and initial setup for this demanding circuit. Most of the day was spent carrying out this work, interspersed with some other development test items,” explained Dominic Harlow, Chief race and test engineer.

 “There was some unscheduled downtime during the morning, following what was later diagnosed to be a sensor problem, but apart from this, Giorgio and the team did a good job laying the foundations for the rest of the test here."

Christijan Albers takes over the car on Wednesday, with Tiago Monteiro concluding the test on Thursday.