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2005 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix
What the teams and drivers said - Friday

Team and Driver Quotes following Friday Practice Sessions

(selected team quotes, for a full team and driver preview click on the team name)

McLaren Mercedes ( Pedro de la Rosa - 1st, Kimi Raikkonen - 2nd, Juan Pablo Montoya - 5th )

Ron Dennis
"Today we went through our planned programme focusing on tyre evaluation and finding the optimum set-up and it's been an encouraging start to the weekend. The entire team has worked hard to prepare for the first race in 2005 and today was no exception."

Full Team and Driver Practice Report  Back to Top

Williams BMW ( Nick Heidfeld - 3rd, Mark Webber - 15th )

Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1):
It's good to start the first race weekend of the season. On both cars we spent the day evaluating tyre compounds and race set-up. On Mark's car we had a problem with the fuel pressure sensor which cost him some time in the second session. Generally we are about where we expected to be. Now we are concentrating on the set up for qualifying but the forecast looks like it will be a full wet day tomorrow.

Full Team and Driver Practice Report  Back to Top

Ferrari ( Michael Schumacher - 4th, Rubens Barrichello - 9th )

Ross Brawn:
"This was the first day of running, getting used to the new format. It seems that everyone was following quite similar programmes, with not much running in the morning and a reasonable programme in the afternoon. We did more laps on one type of tyre than the other, but I think we have enough information to make a judgment for tomorrow. The cars are handling quite well and there have been no major problems. We are quite pleased with the work we have done and the position we are in."

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Sauber ( Felipe Massa - 6th, Jacques Villeneuve - 16th )

Peter Sauber (Team Principal): "It is good finally to stop all the talking and to move into action. It has been a long winter!
This first Friday of the season has been positive for us as we have adapted to the new rules governing the tyres, aerodynamics and preservation of the engines, and developed our new relationships with Michelin and our new driver, Jacques."

Full Team and Driver Practice Report  Back to Top

Renault ( Fernando Alonso - 7th, Giancarlo Fisichella 10th )

Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Operations
“Under the 2005 regulations, every lap in practice is precious, and we therefore had to accomplish as much work as possible in parallel today in order to make the necessary evaluations and tests for our technical programmes. The second session provided us with plenty of information, and was free of incident; on this basis, we possess as much information as possible in order to make our choices on tyres and engine settings for the rest of the weekend.”

Full Team and Driver Practice Report  Back to Top

BAR Honda ( Jenson Button - 8th, Takuma Sato - 18th )

Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director

"It was interesting to have our first day of practice under the new tyre regulations. With only one type of each tyre available today proper tyre evaluation is the main task. As expected all teams ran fewer laps than we used to see on a Friday, so the circuit took a long time to clean up and improve. The whole day has gone very much to plan and we now have all the information we need to make our tyre choice for tomorrow. We are quite happy with our performance level and will continue to work on car set-up in the morning."

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Toyota ( Ricardo Zonta - 11th, Ralf Schumacher - 13th, Jarno Trulli - 14th )

Mike Gascoyne - Technical Director Chassis
"It is good to get the first day of running under our belt after the many weeks of pre-season testing. We have spent today simply getting used to the new regulations, especially concerning the tyres. Ricardo worked on tyre evaluation and long runs to compare both Michelin compounds. It is always difficult at Albert Park because the circuit changes so much throughout the weekend, but the data will tell us more ahead of tomorrow's sessions. Ralf and Jarno concentrated on improving the balance of the car as the track evolved and overall, I think we can be reasonably happy."

Full Team and Driver Practice Report  Back to Top

Red Bull ( David Coulthard - 12th, Christian Klien - 17th, Vitantonio Liuzzi - 21st )

Günther Steiner, Technical Director
“The main objective today was to establish which tyre compound will be most suitable for the race. We managed to accumulate some useful data, although we were obviously compromised a little by the problems that Tonio and Christian suffered. We traced Christian’s throttle trouble to a faulty sensor.”

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Jordan ( Narain Karthikeyan - 19th, Robert Doornbos - 20th, Tiago Monteiro - 22nd )

Trevor Carlin, Sporting Director
“We are generally quite satisfied today with picking which tyres we are going to race on this weekend. After resolving Narain’s oil leak this morning, everything ran very smoothly. The drivers are just learning the circuit. We are very happy with the progress we have been making.”

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Minardi ( Team did not take part in Friday Practice )

Due to ongoing issues concerning the participation of the Minardi F1 Team in the 2005 Foster’s Australian Grand Prix, the cars of Patrick Friesacher and Christijan Albers did not participate in Friday’s two practice sessions at the Albert Park circuit. Further updates will follow.

Update: Mr Justice Hapersberger of the Supreme Court of the State of Victoria this afternoon granted an interim injunction to allow the Minardi F1 Team to take part in the 2005 Australian Grand Prix practice and qualifying sessions on Saturday, March 5, with the cars in 2004 chassis and engine specification. A further hearing is scheduled for 1415 hrs on March 5, at which time the FIA, if it wishes, can appear and respond to the application.

Full Team and Driver Practice Report  Back to Top

Bridgestone

Hisao Suganuma, Bridgestone Motorsport Technical Manager, said: “The track was very dusty this morning so lap times were not that good. Although some teams didn’t run much, Jordan did some good runs for us and I think that data will be helpful to them. By the afternoon session Ferrari was also running a full programme and they were able to run both specifications, giving us the data we need. Tyres this year have to run for both the qualifying sessions and the entire race so we shall analyse the data this evening and consider very carefully with our teams which specification is appropriate for them. It is important to have a safe, durable tyre. Overall, a satisfactory first day.”

Full Bridgestone Practice Report  Back to Top

Michelin

Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin Motorsport Director
“We have had two productive sessions and consistent weather conditions enabled us to gather plenty of vital data. Tyre wear has been quite significant, as is customary on the opening day here in Melbourne, but the track has evolved in the manner we anticipated. “Despite the latest regulation changes, which were designed to cut average speeds, lap times are not too far away from those achieved in Melbourne last year. Without these changes, it is clear that speeds would have escalated considerably, so the FIA has done a good job. The 2005 rules have also given us a whole new range of parameters with which to work – and Michelin thrives on such challenges. So far, I am very happy with our progress.”

Full Michelin Practice Report  Back to Top

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