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Contents |
31st May 2003 monaco gp. saturday practice
and qualifying. Saturday Practice
An eventful first session
for Fernando Alonso, when he almost hit the barriers at Rascasse, then
succeeded in bashing the Armco on the exit of the swimming pool, losing his
front wheel. He finished down in 17th place as a result. Jarno
finished 5th after 15 laps. Fastest was Raikkonen in the McLaren.
Top 6: Raikkonen, Montoya, Webber, M.Schumacher, Trulli, Barrichello. The second session was
marred by a big accident for Jenson Button a few minutes into the session. He
bounced off both walls at the exit of the tunnel and crashed heavily into a
tyre barrier. Fortunately, when Jenson was lifted from the car after 10
minutes, he was found to have no broken bones or any serious injury, but was
taken to hospital for checks. Button’s team mate, Jacques Villeneuve had a
minor crash in sympathy later in the session, coming out of the swimming
pool. Coulthard was fastest, the only driver to break into the 1:14s. Jarno
was still fifth, but almost a second faster than in the earlier session.
Alonso got in 11 more laps, finishing 14th this time. Top 6:
Coulthard, Montoya, M. Schumacher, R. Schumacher, Trulli, Raikkonen. Qualifying Weather: sunny
Temperature: Air:
28-29°C Track: 36-37°C Everyone was waiting with
baited breath to see what happened in the first Monaco qualifying with the
new rules. As it is very important at Monaco to have a good starting position
on the grid, would the teams decide to qualify as light on fuel as possible?
In the end, no one seems to have employed a strange strategy, with the usual
suspects (include Jarno in this) in the top 7. The 7th was
Barrichello, as the Ferraris had a comparatively bad day, possibly due to the
Bridgestone tyres. He and Michael Schumacher (5th) were the only
Bridgestone runners in the top 10. Alonso, after his troubled weekend (4
times in the wall so far), pulled out a good lap for 8th place.
Jarno drove an excellent lap for 4th. Jenson Button was still in
hospital, so will start from the back of the grid for the race, if passed
fit, which seems unlikely. For some reason BAR have not brought Sato, their
third driver, with them…..to Monaco of all places!!!! Top 6: R. Schumacher,
Raikkonen, Montoya, Trulli, M. Schumacher, Coulthard. Jarno
Trulli R23-03 RS23
Spec D Fernando
Alonso R23-04 RS23 Spec D T-car
Jarno R23-01 RS23 Spec D T-car
Fernando R23-00 RS23 Spec B Jarno Trulli, 4th,
1:15.500: “A positive
weekend for me so far with a very good qualifying position. The team has done
a great job and the car has been constantly competitive. I believe we have a
good strategy and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race.” Fernando Alonso, 8th,
1:15.884: “Considering
that this morning’s session was spoiled for me by my spin, which made me miss
a lot of track time, I am quite satisfied with my qualifying result. I did a
good lap and I am happy to start in eight position on tomorrow’s grid.” Pat Symonds, Executive
Engineering Director, Renault F1 Team: “I am very pleased indeed with the
performance and the qualifying positions of both our cars on the grid, which exceeded
our expectations. Bearing in mind the key factor of strategy on this circuit
and the competitiveness of our car and tyres, I feel that we have a very good
possibility of a strong result here in Monaco.” Denis Chevrier, Engine Operations Manager, Renault F1 Team: “A good
qualifying for both drivers which confirms Thursday session’s result: a good
level of competitiveness. Fernando’s performance this afternoon might have
been slightly hampered by his lack of practice this morning, due to his accident
whereas Jarno’s placement corresponds to our objectives.” ITV Watch: Woohoo!!!! A Trulli interview on ITV!!!!! Lucky there was
plenty of time after they blew out half the press conference! Not enough time
though for more than a couple of sentences but we are grateful for anything
these days. Asked by “Lou” was he expecting to be P4, Jarno said: “Er…yes. I’m very happy about the result….. having said that,
anyway, during the weekend we have been performing very well and we knew that
coming here we have got a good chance to do well. So I’m looking forward for
tomorrow……but best wishes to Jenson because he has had an accident but I’m
sure he will be back tomorrow.” Nice guy, our
Jarno. Allan McNish got a longer interview than that, and mentioned that JT
could have been….ooh….a whole tenth quicker, if he hadn’t made a small
mistake when the kerb coming out of the tunnel caused the car to jump in the
air and traction control cut in. Al thinks the team have a good strategy
though. He went on, re the Jenson accident, to explain what it’s like to
crash heavily, and doubts that JB will race tomorrow. Otherwise, some good, some bad. Mark
Blundell goes to the top of our favourite ITV person list, saying post qualy:
“Alonso has had a little bit of a torrid weekend so far although he did pull
a lap out of the bag for qualifying, but Jarno Trulli has been sensational!
For me, I think it was an impressive lap there. He was the fastest guy there
in the first sector out of everybody who qualified (actually 2nd
to MS, but 1st of all in sector 3 - ed), but the let down
really is Renault don’t have the horsepower…….279 clicks there when he came
out of the tunnel, compared to the Williams of Ralf Schumacher with 291. And
that’s the weakness for them at the moment: they’ve got the chassis, they’ve
got the balance, they’ve got the drivers……they just don’t have the grunt.” Ted Kravitz, however, has moved a few
notches down the popularity poll with this little effort: “ I’ve been talking
to Alonso’s engineers……he lost a lot of time this morning when he hit the
barrier…..but they think they’ve got a decent set up. Unfortunately, he’s not going
to be able to beat Trulli who’s really going like a rocket this
weekend……” Even Martin Brundle made a neutral comment.
It seems Brundle has been hobnobbing with Flavio, who told him: “My 2 drivers are unbelievable……they really
hurt……when one’s had a bad day they are concerned for each other.” Brundle
commented: “Apparently there is a great camaraderie between Trulli and
Alonso, where they’re sort of looking out for each other. That’s a bit
bizarre in a way (obviously not the same at Mclaren! – ed), but I think that
as Renault are in the ascendancy, as they’re trying to move forward, that two
heads are better then one approach really
works and therefore you get openness, you get their telemetries out in the
open, you get discussion, and that helps you move forward, and I think that
partnership is working well at Renault.” 29th May 2003 monaco
gp. thursday qualifying. No one crashed, but mixed
fortunes for drivers in this first qualifying session in Monte Carlo.
Raikkonen, out first, had a poor lap, but was soon shown how it ‘s done by
Michael Schumacher, who set the fastest time and remained unbeaten throughout
the session. Barrichello was his closest challenger, closely followed by
Button and Jarno. Just behind them were Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher.
Fisichella took 7th, then came Montoya. Raikkonen ended up 11th.
Alonso had a rather dodgy lap, disappointing all those who expected him to
fly here, finishing 14th. There was a long delay when Frentzen’s
Sauber decided it didn’t fancy being thrashed around a track surrounded by
Armco, and his engine gave out depositing oil on the track. After the clean
up, conditions had cooled on the circuit and the drivers still to qualify
were also compromised by worries about the oil and the cement dust laid down
to mop it up. Toyota had a bad day, qualifying behind both Minardis. Jarno Trulli R23-03 RS23
Spec D Fernando Alonso R23-04 RS23 Spec D Jarno Trulli , 4th,
1:16.905: "I had a
good afternoon session and I am very pleased with my position. We managed to
solve the problems that had hampered our work during this morning’s session
and thanks to the teams hard work the car improved considerably. We can
expect a good weekend for us!" Fernando Alonso, 14th,
1:18.370: "It's always
difficult here in Monaco to do the perfect lap: I didn't get the maximum
today from my car but it’s Saturday that's important and I'll make sure that
I will do much better than today and be further up on the starting
grid." Pat
Symonds, Executive Engineering Director: "A day of
mixed fortunes. Jarno's lap time is acceptable whereas for some reason, we
could not achieve with Fernando the level of performance we had hoped for.
Now we have to analyse the situation and fix it, so that in Saturday‘s
qualifying we can close the gap between the two drivers and have both cars
amongst the front runners on the grid." Denis Chevrier, Engine
Operations Manager: "Our results
today are quite encouraging with a fairly good lap from Fernando and a
perfect lap from Jarno, which confirm that our cars are competitive on this
track. This was a productive day in which we gathered useful data in
preparation for the race." ITV Watch: The usual suspects featured heavily, with several DC
interviews, Firman and Wilson. Jenson still seems a little out of favour and
only appeared once after the qualifying session. Alonso was interviewed once
before the session and once after, to try to explain his poor lap! Jordan are
the team of the week, so we can watch Fisichella telling is how great Jordan
are, while hedging his bets for next year.
29th May 2003 monaco
gp. thursday practice. In the practice session
following on the test session, everyone managed to keep out of the barriers.
Mark Webber finished top of the time sheets, with the Renault boys 4th
and 5th. Top 6: Webber, Button, Coulthard, Alonso, Trulli, M.
Schumacher. Da Matta was struggling, 20th and last man, behind the
Minardis. 29th May 2003 monaco
gp. thursday test. Weather: sunny Temperature: Air: 24-25°C Track : 26°C Jarno Trulli R23-03 RS23 Spec D
Fernando Alonso R23-04
RS23 Spec D Allan McNish R23-00
RS23 Spec D Jarno was the fastest man in the
private test session. Fellow Renault drivers McNish and Alonso were 4th
and 5th respectively. The “problems” referred to in the quotes
were incidents when both race drivers kissed the barriers, causing punctures
and suspension damage. Jaguar’s Pizzonia also had a little altercation with
the Armco, and Mark Webber had mechanical problems. Pat Symonds, Executive Director
of Engineering, Renault F1 Team: “Although we experienced some
problems with the race cars, we wereable to gather plenty of very useful data
on race set ups and tyres with our third car. Overall we are quite happy with
what we have achieved in this morning
test session.” Allan McNish, Renault F1 Team
test driver: “The circuit was obviously very
slippery this morning but we found a good balance for the car. We were able to complete our tyre
programme, which is critical in Monaco. During the session we also verified
some of the other changes we had introduced last week during testing at Paul
Ricard. On this circuit, it’s always a matter of balance between pushing to
go through a time lap and trying to keep the car into one pace. We had a very
constructive session and we are now looking forward to watching the one-lap
qualifying this afternoon.” Denis Chevrier, Engine Operations
Manager, Renault F1 Team: “We conducted a routine programme with Allan’s car, whereas the two
race cars had some problems. From an engine point of view, we did some
interesting set ups
but the track was
very dusty at
the beginning and so we couldn’t exploit this private session as much
as we would have liked.” 25th May 2003 monaco
gp. preview Jarno
Trulli. Race Driver: Monaco
is a race that demands physical preparation. What’s your approach for this? “Since the
weather is always good at Monte-Carlo, we have been performing with the team
trainers a five-day session involving lots of cycling and jogging out in the
open. Then we also have being doing gym work with special exercises to
strengthen the arms, which is the part of the body that’s put under more
strain than usual because of the unique characteristics of the street
circuit. At Monaco, the drivers use the steering wheel a lot which, when you
add in how bumpy the circuit is, means the arms suffer quite a pounding. As
well as the physical exercises, the trainers also get us to do mental
exercises to get us to improve or even increase our level of concentration
during a race. At Monaco you need to concentrate even more than for other
circuits, and it’ll punish the slightest mistake. So you need to be
constantly working on your concentration!” What’s your favourite part
of the circuit? “For me
Monaco is kind of a home circuit, because I used to live there. That’s how I
got to be familiar with it and enjoy it, but my favourite part is definitely
the swimming pool area. It’s quite a fast section, and this year they’ve made
some changes to it. I haven’t seen it yet, which is why Thursday’s test
session will be even more important than usual, because that’s when we’ll be
familiarising ourselves with the changes to the circuit.” Fernando
Alonso. Race Driver: Do you like the Monaco
circuit? “Monte-Carlo
is a really special circuit fo rall the drivers, and can rightly be
considered a reference in the Formula One Championship. I don’t think Monaco
is very technical - there are more technical circuits than this one - but when
it comes to concentration, Monaco is the most demanding. You can never let up
for a moment, and you’ve always got to be giving over 100%! The slightest mistake can be very costly
for the car. I’ve only raced at
Monaco in Grand Prix twice in my life: once when I was in Formula 3000 and
the other time was two years ago now when
I was with Minardi. But I had gearbox trouble and couldn’t finish the
race! My favourite part is the second section after the tunnel. This is a
pretty fast section of the track and the most beautiful and
spectacular.” The Monaco
Grand Prix is
traditionally a huge media affair. What kind of
state of mind do
you approach it with?
“Personally
I’m not very ‘jet set’, but I do think that because of its history, the great
sporting moments and atmosphere it has witnessed, Monte-Carlo is
one-of-a-kind. I feel that winning at Monaco means more than winning anywhere
else. Monte-Carlo is part of the legend of motor sport, which makes me want
to do well here even more. And I’ confident the car will be competitive. Last year it did well and I’m optimistic
we’ll do well again this year.” Allan
McNish. Test driver: Allan, how are you going
to use the extra two hours to fine tune the cars? “At Monaco
the extra two hours will be very beneficial for both the chassis and tyres as
well as for the drivers. It’s a street circuit so it takes time for it to
get the right level of grip. The two hours of testing will give us a good
idea of what we need, particularly concerning the tyres. Also, for the drivers, all additional
testing in Monaco is vitally important.” As a resident of Monaco
this is a home Grand Prix for you.
How do you feel about that? “For me,
Monaco is a unique experience. It’s where I live and I see all the changes to
the town throughout the two weeks leading up to the Grand Prix, during the
Grand Prix and after the event. It’s weird how you can drive the same route
as the F1 cars during the race weekend. For example, I’ll be driving my
Renault Mégane through the same Monaco streets the day before the race. It’s
one of those situations that’s perfect and paradoxical at the same
time!” What will the track
conditions be like? “Usually the circuit is slippery
because it’s in the city of Monaco and used every day. This year they’ve just
changed the route, which means it’s good to have an extra two hours!! Before you went past the swimming pool
then left before sweeping round into the Rascasse turn, which was really
hard. Now it’s been changed and everyone’s going to have to learn the
modifications by heart. Every time I drive at Monaco, I feel like I’m driving
in a tunnel: the barriers are so high and the cars so low that you always
feel you’re in a tunnel, only at speeds of up to 280km/h! It’s really like a video game!” Austria – My
Race Here is Jarno’s
account his GP weekend in Austria: From www.renaultf1.com
22nd May
2003 ricard test The Renault F1Team concluded their test with a productive
day working on tyre development (Ron Dennis, please note!). Allan McNish ran
a massive 156 laps, a lot more than anyone else. He wasn’t fastest though; that
honour went to both Montoya in the Williams and Coulthard in the McLaren who
posted equal times. Allan was actually 6th of 7, but the 7th
was Wurz in the new McLaren, which is still only doing a few laps at a time.
Today it was 10. 21st May 2003 ricard test The Renault F1 Team are conducting a two day, one car
test at the Paul Ricard circuit in France this week. Test driver Allan McNish
joined drivers from McLaren, Williams and Toyota at the track today. Kimi
Raikkonen was fastest for McLaren. Allan was 6th quickest. He was
testing a new air intake system and evaluating 2 different engine
specifications with Monaco in mind. 17th May 2003 austrian gp. race. Weather: sunny Temperature: Air:
20°C Track: 27°C Alonso, in the T-car, and
Webber started the race from the pitlane. There were two aborted starts as da
Matta had two problems with his Toyota. He had to start from the back, which
left the odd numbered side of the track rather depleted, as Frentzen’s Sauber
also gave up on him, obviously disliking the false starts. When they finally
got going, Michael Schumacher shot into the lead, with Montoya passing
Raikkonen for second and Barrichello passing Heidfeld for fourth. Somewhere
in the first corners, an aggressively starting Jarno nevertheless lost a
place to Pizzonia. But at least he was still on the track! After half a lap,
the safety car was deployed, as Verstappen, who had trickled down the pit
straight, had to park his sick Minardi at the side of the track. It wasn’t
there for long and the race soon proceeded. Panis was the next to retire with
a car problem on lap 7. Webber had to pay a 10 second stop-go penalty because
his team had refuelled his car in the pitlane before parc ferme regulations
were lifted. It began to rain lightly, but not enough for a tyre change. On
lap 15, Jarno spun at a slippery Castrol Kurve, dropping him from 7th
to 9th place. Soon after he had to pit and came out into traffic
in 14th place. Meanwhile, Alonso, on his new one stop strategy was
making up places, first by passing back markers and then by other drivers
pitting. Ferrari had a problem with their first pit stops, when there was a
problem with the fuel hose for Barrichello’s stop, and then again on
Michael’s stop when the pitcrew had to extinguish a fire. Michael didn’t even
move in the car and carried on his way to rejoin in third behind Montoya and
Raikkonen. Cool customer! On lap 32, Montoya’s engine blew and he still drove
all the way round the track into the pits. Amidst the engine smoke, Michael
passed Kimi. Barrichello was able to overtake Button, and Alonso was up to a
heady 4th before he finally had to pit on lap 37. He was able to
rejoin in 8th place. M.Schumacher had a successful pit stop on lap
42 and again came out third, behind Raikkonen and Barrichello. Alonso spun
off with an engine failure on lap 46, his oil causing several drivers a
problem. Heidfeld had to retire with mechanical failure. After their final
pit stops, Raikkonen and Barrichello were second and third to Michael’s lead.
Ralf Schumacher went wide at the Grosser Kurve, allowing Button and Coulthard
to pass. Fisichella retired six laps from the end with a fuel pressure
problem. Jarno had to fight off Pizzonia, but was comfortably ahead of him by
the end of the race. Raikkonen and Barrichello had a scrap for second, but
the race finished with them second and third respectively. Top 8:
M.Schumacher, Raikkonen, Barrichello, Button, Coulthard, R. Schumacher,
Webber, Trulli. Jarno
Trulli R23-03 RS23
Spec D Fernando
Alonso R23-01 RS23
Spec D T-Car R23-04
RS23 Spec B Jarno Trulli, 8th, best time 1:10.358: “A tough
race, definitely. I made a mistake when I slid in the light rain, losing
control on the first corner, which cost me quite a few positions. Then I was stuck
in traffic. The drivers ahead of me were slower and the team decided to
change strategy. Thanks to that, I was able to climb up again but somehow the
car wasn’t quite right after my first pit stop and I just couldn’t improve as
I wanted. Eighth place and one point is not too bad but I had expected much
better from this race.” Fernando Alonso,
dnf 44 laps) “I started the race from the pit with the
T-car and I made good progress throughout the race.The one-stop strategy was right and I was in eighth position
when I was forced to retire because of an engine problem. It’s the first time
I haven’t finished a race this season, and hopefully the last! However, today
we have proved to be competitive on this circuit which is not the best for
us, so I am very optimistic for all the races to come.” Flavio Briatore, Managing
Director, Renault F1 Team: “A weekend
that was marked by a series of problems and that ended in a very
disappointing way for us. The only consolation is the one point we scored which
makes us keep third position (equal with Williams) in the Championship. Now
we have to focus our efforts and make sure that this doesn’t happen again.” Pat Symonds, Executive
Director of Engineering, Renault F1 Team: “A very
difficult race from the beginning with Fernando starting the race from the
pit lane, due to a last minute engine failure. However he improved his
position dramatically throughout the race when another engine failure put an
end to his fight for fifth place. Jarno’s race was compromised when on lap 15
he had a spin which dropped him back. Soon after he came in for his first pit
stop and afterwards he appeared to struggle. Now we have to examine what
happened and why we were not more competitive.” Denis Chevrier, Engine
Operations Manager, Renault F1 Team: “For the
first time this season, we have experienced an engine failure during the
race, costing us a potential fifth place for Fernando. Unfortunately Jarno
could not optimise on his good starting position on the grid and lost two
places, however bringing home one point. Overall a disappointing first race
for our new spec engine reliability but from a performance point of view,
it’s quite encouraging.” ITV watch: Usual dross, can’t be bothered. Except
to note that the Renault driver they interviewed after qualifying was the guy
who made the mistake and started from the back, rather than the driver who
gained a faultless 6th place. Ho hum…. And gee
thanks, Allan, for tipping Jarno for the podium. Knew it was the kiss of
death! 17th May 2003 austrian gp. saturday
practice and qualifying. Saturday Practice. Not too much to report out
of the ordinary. M.Schumacher was fastest in the first session, edging out his
team mate, Barrichello. Villeneuve in the BAR with the Bridgestones was
third, and Alonso managed to be 4th for Renault. Completing the
top 6 were Heidfeld (Sauber having a reasonable weekend) and Pizzonia. Jarno
was 9th. In the second session,
Barrichello took over at the top, with the Ferraris split by Montoya. Ralf
Schumacher joined his brother with 4th place, Jarno was 5th
and Villeneuve 6th. Saturday Qualifying. This session was quite
eventful for a change! Several drivers made mistakes, affecting their grid
positions. Even Michael Schumacher made an error that would have hurt another
driver badly, but Michael was able to gather it all up and STILL take pole
from Kimi Raikkonen. Other drivers were not so fortunate. Fernando Alonso
starts from 19th position, after a long excursion through the
gravel. It would have been 20th but for Verstappen’s car failure.
Wilson had a poor lap, but looks better in 18th after those
incidents! Everyone thought Ralf had blown it, but doesn’t now look too bad
in 10th place, after a few more driver’s mistakes. However, his
team mate is 3rd, so the team might not be thrilled. Following
Button’s good lap for 7th, Villeneuve failed to show us how it’s
done by leaving the track at several corners and finishing 12th,
having chucked dirt and debris all over the track……which didn’t please or
help Mark Webber who more or less followed in his footsteps, but could only
make 17th. Coulthard made at least 3 major errors in his lap and
starts 14th. Jarno drove an excellent clean and tidy lap to take 6th
place. Later Pat Symonds said the team is very happy with Jarno’s position,
which is better than they expected, given the strategy. Top 6: M. Schumacher,
Raikkonen, Montoya, Heidfeld, Barrichello, Trulli. Weather: sunny Temperature: Air:
23°C Track: 34°C Jarno
Trulli R23-03 RS23
Spec D Fernando
Alonso R23-04 RS23
Spec D T-Car R23-01
RS23 Spec D Jarno Trulli, 6th,
1:09.890: “I am very
happy with my sixth place, considering that it was a tough qualifying for everybody, on a very dirty track. This
morning’s hard work on the set up paid off as I felt that the car balance was
perfect in qualifying. I feel good and ready to attack in tomorrow’s race and
my objective is definitely to bring home some points for the team.” Fernando Alonso, 19th, 1:20.113: “This
morning I felt the car more competitive than yesterday, thanks to some
changes the team did last night. In qualifying my lap started very well but I
made a mistake that took me off the track and put me at the back of the
grid. In spite of this, I feel
confident I can make my way up in tomorrow’s race and, who knows even score
some points.” Pat Symonds,
Executive Director of
Engineering, Renault F1 Team: “A good
clean lap from Jarno. Considering our race strategy, we are extremely pleased
with his sixth place on the grid. Unfortunately for Fernando, the penalty you
pay for one mistake under the one-lap-qualifying rule is very high and it
will be very hard for him to score points, starting so far back. Nevertheless
we will try our best, knowing that anything can happen on this tough
circuit.” Denis Chevrier, Engine
Operations Manager, Renault F1 Team: “Mixed
feelings today, as we have a big gap on the starting grid between our two
drivers. Jarno did an excellent lap,
pushing the car to the limit. Fernando started equally well but made a
mistake, which cost him a position which would have been very close to
Jarno’s. Engine-wise, today we found again a good level of performance, which
is very encouraging for the race.” ITV
watch: Trulli fans please also read Friday’s
comments about ITV and email ITV if
you think it’s necessary at studio@itv-f1.com.
Saturday’s programme was the usual ITV pap, but a “bonus” this week is their
extra coverage of the Williams team. Williams have allowed them more access
to the team this weekend, so we have had more driver interviews etc. Haven’t
seen much of Button so far. Maybe they looked back over the last race’s
coverage and decided to give it a welcome rest as far as JB is concerned.
Plenty of Wilson, Firman and Coulthard though, and lovely Allan did his track
walk. Brundle claimed Jarno was too cautious in his qualifying lap, soon
after Alonso had made a mess of his. Jarno finished 6th. Brundle’s
boy DC made a complete hash of his lap to finish 14th ……maybe a little
caution wouldn’t have gone amiss, hey Martin? 16th May 2003 austrian gp. friday practice
and qualifying. Weather: sunny Temperature: Air:
18-19°C Track: 27-29°C Jarno
Trulli R23-03 RS23
Spec D Fernando
Alonso R23-04 RS23 Spec D In the Friday practice
session, Jarno was second fastest to Coulthard, with Alonso 5th.
No spins or crashes. Top 6: Coulthard, Trulli, Pizzonia, M.Schumacher,
Webber, Alonso. The two Ralf/Ralphs
provided the only excitement in today’s qualifying session, resulting in them
supporting the rest of the grid from the bottom! Ralf Schumacher spun and
crashed causing the session to be red-flagged. Later on, Ralph Firman managed
to slide off the track into the barriers (another red flag), but will start
after Ralf tomorrow, because Ralph was near the finish line and did set a
time. The Ferraris were well ahead of everyone else, but Webber was fast in
the Jaguar. The BARs were also strong. The Renaults struggled a little, but
Jarno (11th) was ahead of Fernando (13th). Top 6:
M.Schumacher, Barrichello, Webber, Villeneuve, Button, Montoya. Jarno Trulli, 11th,
1:09.450: “We have a
lot of work ahead of us before tomorrow’s qualifying, since, as we expected,
this track does not suit the R23.
However, the potential of the car is there, and it is simply a matter
of finding the way to exploit it and I think we will be ok for the
race.” Fernando Alonso, 13th,
1:09.680: “We knew
this is not the best circuit for our car, so I am not too surprised by my
position today. Overall it was a
productive Friday, this morning we worked on a series of things and in the
afternoon, I had a straightforward lap, but going out third didn’t help me
too much as the track was not in the best conditions. I am confident I can improve tomorrow.” Pat Symonds,
Executive Engineering Director,
Renault F1 Team: “Although we
had a very productive session this morning, in which we covered almost three
race distances, we didn’t maximise
the advantage we should have got from it in this afternoon qualifying.
However I believe we now have a good idea of how we could have improved
things this afternoon and we should be able to apply this tomorrow to improve
our competitiveness.” Denis Chevrier, Engine
Operations Manager, Renault F1 Team: “A
disappointing performance this afternoon. Now we have to analyse what went
wrong, knowing that both drivers encountered the same difficulty to get the
best of the car in this circuit.” ITV
watch: Brundle has spoken! Martin Brundle took the
opportunity to clear up the Coulthard/Trulli incident in Spain. It was all
Jarno’s fault. Now, there’s a surprise! Using their good cop/bad cop routine,
Allen told how he had spoken to Jarno (interview, chaps???) and JT is fed up
with the incidents in races that have hurt his results. This gave Brundle the
opportunity to pass judgement on the Barcelona accident. JT made a ‘bad
mistake’, getting ‘out of shape in turn 2’ (which they hadn’t reached yet)
and ‘catapulted’ across the track; MB admits you couldn’t see it on TV, but
he’s seen the still photos. Well, so have I, and the photos show Barrichello
on the grass, kicking up dust that JT drove through. And in the TV freeze
frames on the video, it is hard to see at which point they touched, never
mind ‘catapulting’. What you can see though, is all the room Coulthard
had on the other side of him and how unnecessary it was for him to be so
close to JT. Brundle then declares judgement: JT made a ‘clear error, as he
has done on several occasions’. I can only think of one other similar
incident….the accident with, who was it now…..oh yes, Coulthard at
Silverstone 2001, an almost identical situation. Bit of a coincidence? Unless Brundle is blaming Jarno for Monza
2000, Button driving into him twice, the Ferraris causing everyone to pile
into the back of them in Austria 2000….. or maybe Brundle thinks that when
Michael Schumacher hit Jarno in Sepang, it was actually Jarno’s fault, even
though MS accepted total blame! I waited in vain for the judgement on
Coulthard’s accident with Jenson Button in Spain, but it was not forthcoming.
Oh, I forgot, JB is a Brit. 16th May 2003 austrian
gp. friday testing. Weather: sunny Temperature: Air: 16°C Track : 22°C Jarno Trulli R23-03
RS23 Spec D Fernando Alonso R23-04
RS23 Spec D Allan McNish R23-00
RS23 Spec D It was a cold morning in the
Styrian mountains and combined with a “green” circuit, these conditions
served to make our boys a little slow. However, by the end of the session,
Jarno, Fernando and Allan had completed a large number of laps between them.
Jordan’s Fisichella was fastest in the session, with Jarno 4th,
Fernando 5th and Allan 6th. Pat Symonds, Executive Director
of Engineering, Renault F1 Team: “Even though this is a quite
short circuit, today our 3 cars today have run an amazing amount of 172 laps. As expected, the track conditions
were quite poor at the beginning of the test session but by the end of the
session we were getting some good tyre data. We were also able to do some
long runs with Allan testing one of our possible race tyres.” Allan McNish, Renault F1 Team
test driver: “It was very cold this morning
and so the circuit had very little grip. Nevertheless we had an extremely
productive morning completing our programme as scheduled. It was also
the first official run of the latest specification of the engine which, I
think, is an improvement. We did some other work with aerodynamics. I think
it could be a good base for the whole weekend.” Denis Chevrier, Engine Operations
Manager, Renault F1 Team: “As usual, it was a busy
testing session. From the engine point of view, we checked the
reliability of the
latest evolution: we had a
trouble free session even though the track conditions were colder than normal, for our data gathering
purposes. Overall, a satisfying and interesting session.” 14th May 2003 austrian gp. driver preview.
Jarno
Trulli. Race driver: What driving abilities are
essential on this circuit? “Seen from
the cockpit, Zeltweg
is not a
very complicated circuit: there is a series of three bends on
the inner section of the course
while the rest
of the track
is a sequence of accelerations and pretty hard
braking. No, you wouldn't say
that it is
a circuit that
demands any extra-special driving skills.” Do you
especially like this
track? Is there
anything about it which motivates you? “Personally,
I like all the tracks: I enjoy
driving no matter
what the circuit. Zeltweg is a track which is
often dirty and
slippery, and the grip isn't always great. Despite this, I feel
very at ease
on this circuit
and I’ve always managed to be very quick in the past, so I hope it will
be the case this year. I do
particularly like the setting, and it’s a real pleasure to drive through its spectacular
surroundings.” Fernando
Alonso. Race driver: Fernando, it must have
been particularly special for you to
put in such
a strong performance at Barcelona in
front of your
home crowd: after
this excellent result
last weekend, what
do you think
the future holds
in store? “I am
feeling very good
and confident for
the future: with every race, I get to know the team
and the car a bit better. At my sixth
race driving for Renault I feel I have learnt a lot as a driver. Today, I feel stronger when I
come up against other drivers:
last year, even if I drove thousands of kilometres as the team test driver, I was always alone,
so there was never any direct
confrontation. These first few races have taught me a lot about pit-stops, the way tyre
performance changes throughout the course of a race, and on
how to manage your race. I think I am now becoming more and more
capable of exploiting the car's potential.” Do you know the A1-Ring
well? Does it suit your driving style? “In my view,
this is the most straightforward
F1 circuit there is. There are only six bends and it is very short
compared to the others, so the
gaps are always
very tight. I like the circuit but I wouldn't say that
it is my absolute favourite. On this track, the driver's skills are not as
essential as they are at Suzuka, for example. We come to Austria with
some good results behind
us and I
think we can do well. Zeltweg suits my driving style okay, even if the contribution I have to
make here is less challenging than usual.”
Allan
McNish. Test driver: Allan, in
your view, what benefits will you get out
of the private tests on the Friday on this circuit? “From the team's
point of view, we actually don't have much past experience of this circuit,
so having these extra two hours of
tests, which will give us time to adapt the R23 to the circuit, gives us an
important advantage over our rivals. Also, we are able to work on engine development, and those
two hours on Friday morning will allow our
engineers in Viry
to work on fine-tuning the engine. As far as my personal plan for
these tests is concerned, I'm
going to concentrate on the development of the
tyres with Michelin: We need
to be sure the tyres we choose are the right ones in every respect.” What does the car need to
be competitive on this track? “First of
all, the car needs a braking stability in the chassis and good horsepower.
Most of the corners are quite
slow, that’s why it’s so
important to have a braking stability: at the same time you need a good
traction on exit of the corners and a
good speed in order to be able to overtake.” 9th May 2003 What DC told Italian TV When DC was interviewed after his second
accident on Sunday in Barcelona, he told the Italian TV interviewer that his
accident with Jarno was 50/50. He immediately turned to Louise Goodman for
the UK’s ITV and on being asked if he had seen Jarno (as he apparently hadn’t
seen Jenson!), he said: “Um....yeah, I knew
it was all going to get a bit tight through there....it got a bit messy
because the Ferraris went wide....but I tried to pick my way through and all
you can do in those situations is make sure you're not the guy who runs into
someone. I've made that mistake a few years ago, when.... you remember....we
didn't get off the grid at the start.....I started last, passed a lot of
people and then got so close to the car in front that when Bernoldi hit the
back of me, he pushed me into the car, so......Martin (Brundle) will
know.....you have to make sure you give plenty of room to the car in front
and hope that someone doesn't hit you - but I'm going to have a little dig
and say that it's not surprising that Jarno runs into someone, you know it
all gets a little Italian for him when he gets into close quarter
racing." Two faced, or what? 8th May 2003 Weather: Sunny Spells, Dry track 18°
R23-05 Jarno Trulli R202-02 Allan McNish Today the Renault F1 Team concluded
its two-day testing at the Paul Ricard circuit, France. Jarno Trulli and
Allan McNish completed the test programme in preparation for the forthcoming
Austrian Grand Prix. Allan McNish worked on developing
the suspension in last season’s car, the R202, while Jarno Trulli ran
successfully 76 laps, with a best lap time of 1:12.780. Trulli finished 4th
fastest, with Williams’ Ralf Schumacher the fastest overall. McNish’s time
was bottom of the time sheets, but he had a productive day nonetheless. Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director
of the Renault F1 Team: “Again another productive day
of testing. Jarno continued to run the new-spec engine in the R23. He also
concentrated on long runs to assess the tyres with Michelin for the Zeltweg
circuit. Allan completed his scheduled day’s work in the R202 covering
suspension work and a tyre programme. Overall, the two days we had a
satisfactorily result and we now look forward to the race in Austria.” 7th May 2003 ricard test. Weather: sunny but windy, 19°,
dry track R23-05 Jarno Trulli The Renault F1 Team began today a
two-day test session at the Paul Ricard circuit. The Team will run two cars:
a R23 with Jarno Trulli and a R202 with test driver Allan McNish. Today, however, the Team ran only the R23 with Jarno Trulli. Jarno evaluated a new spec engine which will be |