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Team
and Driver race preview (selected
team quotes, for a full team and driver preview click on the team name) Renault (
Fernando Alonso, Giancarlo Fisichella ) Fernando Alonso
Imola is a very tough circuit
for the suspension: we hit the kerbs hard, and the car needs to be able to cope with that. The drivers must be aggressive through
the corners, which I like, and it is impossible to relax: if you get the line wrong over the kerbs, you will be in the gravel trap
or the barrier. You also need to find good mechanical grip in the slow corners, traction on the exit and a strong engine down the
short straights. So far, the R25 has been competitive on all the types of circuit we have visited; I expect it will continue in San
Marino. Full
Team and Driver Preview Back to Top Toyota (
Jarno Trulli, Ralf Schumacher ) Mike Gascoyne - Technical Director Chassis:
"Kerb riding is an important
factor at Imola. This has been a weak point for Toyota in the past but with the progress we have made this year and the improved
handling of the TF105, I don't think it will be such a problem this weekend. Imola's cooler track temperatures will also make a
massive change from the extreme heat we have faced at the last two rounds in Malaysia and Bahrain. In order to prepare we spent the
last week testing at Paul Ricard to establish just how our Michelin tyres will behave in those temperatures and to make our final
tyre choice for the race weekend. Overall, I see no reason why Toyota's newfound success cannot continue and we should aim for more
points." Full
Team and Driver Preview Back to Top McLaren (
Kimi Raikkonen, Alex Wurz ) Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula One, Team McLaren Mercedes
"It is disappointing
that Juan Pablo is not yet fully recovered from the injury he sustained to his shoulder on 26th March, however it is imperative that
his shoulder heals properly to ensure no additional risk. We will assess the situation again next week but at this stage we are
optimistic he will return for the Spanish Grand Prix as the shoulder is healing well. As Alex is now fully comfortable in the
MP4-20, we have taken the decision that he will deputise for Juan Pablo at Imola. We are in the fortunate position of having two
very experienced and very competitive drivers in Alex and Pedro. In addition they are both good guys and great team players and we
felt it appropriate and fair to provide them both with the opportunity to race." Full
Team and Driver Preview Back to Top Williams
BMW ( Mark Webber, Nick Heidfeld ) Sam
Michael (Technical Director WilliamsF1):
Going from Bahrain to Imola we will see an ambient temperature drop of around 25°C.
We have been testing in Barcelona and Paul Ricard since the last GP, working on tyre compounds, aero parts and general set-up of the
FW27. We have made progress on performance and are looking forward to seeing our relative position at the race. Imola has
medium to high speed corners, a couple of chicanes and heavy braking that the car and driver have to deal with. It is also important
to have good curb riding ability without compromising high speed stability, both of which are strengths of the FW27. As usual,
we have an aerodynamic upgrade package that will improve the car again to help us compete at the front. We will also have two new
tyre choices that we have worked on with Michelin during tests. Imola is softer on tyres compared to the race circuits we have just
been to, however as the FW27 has not been close to the limits on tyre wear at the first three GP's, we have gone to even softer
compounds again. Due to the shorter pitlane the fuel strategy for the race could be slightly different in Imola. We are
looking to maintain our strong qualifying performance that has enabled us to be one of the few teams to improve position on Sunday
morning with race fuel load onboard. Full
Team and Driver Preview Back to Top Red Bull (
David Coulthard, Christian Klein ) Christian Horner, Sporting Director
“We are looking forward to the first
European event. It is going to be interesting to see how Tonio gets on for his debut, in his home country. I am also pleased that
Christian will be driving during Friday’s free practice. Continuity is a very important element for a Formula 1 team, especially
as the car development moves forward. To date, only David, Christian and Tonio have driven the RB01 and I must thank all the other
teams for their support and the FIA for changing the third driver rule in time for this weekend, so we can continue with our trio of
drivers. David had a good test in Barcelona last week and he has gone well at Imola in the past, so hopefully we will be in good
shape. Our aim is to maintain the momentum of the last three points scoring events.” Full
Team and Driver Preview Back to Top Ferrari (
Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello ) Stefano Domenicali, Sporting Director
"Arriving in Imola not
leading the world championship, as was the case for two years is an extra reason to tackle this race in a positive frame of mind. I
think that after such a start to the season, for a team like ours, the motivation will be stronger than ever. It will be even more
important to show all our fans that we are still fighting. Our approach to the San Marino Grand Prix is based on the principal that
our objectives and our goals have not changed. This applies to all the races, but of course Imola is a big event for us." Full Team and Driver Preview
Back
to Top Sauber ( Jacques Villeneuve, Felipe Massa ) Willy
Rampf (Technical Director):
"It is always good to get back to Europe after the opening three 'flyaway' races, because
things get a little easier logistically and because the travel time schedule is shorter. "Imola is a maximum downforce circuit
that is very taxing on brakes. Therefore we use the maximum brake cooling we have and the optimum specification of pad and disc. It
is also important to set up the car so that the drivers can use the kerbs. These are relatively high but the only way to a fast lap
is to go straight over them, especially in the chicane at the top of the hill. The track is also bumpy, but the drivers just have to
live with that. Our last test at Imola in February was snowed off after a day, but we were at least able to get a base set-up in our
limited running time. "The most important aspect of our preparation for the San Marino Grand Prix has been our intensive
three-day test in Barcelona, our first since this year's racing began. We concentrated there on our ongoing aerodynamic programme,
trying several new components from the wind tunnel at Hinwil, and also tyre testing for Imola and future races. One of the things we
needed to do was continue set-up work on the SAUBER PETRONAS C24 as we learned more about optimising the way that it uses Michelin's
tyres. We also worked on a range of different set-ups for cooler conditions, following the races in Malaysia and Bahrain with their
high track and ambient temperatures. All of this test work was particularly valuable, as there is no longer the time or the engine
mileage available for such work at races." Full Team
and Driver Preview Back to Top Jordan ( Tiago Monteiro, Narain Karthikeyan ) Trevor
Carlin, Sporting Director
“We are really looking forward to going to Imola this coming weekend. We had a very successful
test at Circuit Paul Ricard last week, where the drivers learnt a lot about the car and the team made a few improvements. Hopefully
we can keep on building on our promising start to the season and keep improving in general on all different aspects.“ Full
Team and Driver Preview Back to Top BAR Honda ( Jenson Button, Takuma Sato ) Geoffrey Willis, Technical
Director
“After very successful tests of our new aerodynamic package at Barcelona and Paul Ricard, we are looking forward to
the first round of the European season at Imola. We had a very good race weekend here in 2004 and we expect the car to perform well
again over the kerbs, which is important at this circuit. With track and air temperatures much lower than we experienced at the
first three races, getting good tyre warm-up will be important, particularly in first qualifying, to help get a good aggregate
qualifying position for this race where it is very hard to overtake. Imola is also a circuit which is hard on brakes, but despite
the retirement at Bahrain we are confident that we will not encounter any wear problems.” Full
Team and Driver Preview Back to Top Minardi
( Christijan Albers, Patrick Freisacher ) Not yet available Back to Top Bridgestone Hiroshi
Yasukawa, Director of Motorsport, said: “The first three rounds of this season have produced some interesting results. While
they may have been great for the spectators, they were not quite what we had hoped for! However, we do believe that the Ferrari –
Bridgestone package is growing stronger each day and there is also a huge amount of potential yet to come. Our technical personnel
have been working hard with our teams in the past couple of weeks and we fully expect to see a competitive performance from them
this weekend. For Ferrari and Minardi, in particular, a good result is important on their home territory.” Full Bridgestone Preview
Back to Top Michelin Pierre
Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport director
”The first three grands prix of the 2005 season have been very rewarding for
Michelin. Our excellent results are the fruit of much dedicated work carried out by our research and development teams. During the
winter, we conducted countless computer simulations using refined mathematical models. Our systematic approach allowed us to
evaluate many, many tyre options – and only the most promising made it as far as the track-testing stage. “All this work
resulted in some fresh constructions and compounds that were tailor- made for the latest regulations. I’m not sure that people
appreciated the full extent of our labours: we weren’t simply creating tyres that maintained strong, consistent performance over a
full race distance – they also had to be compatible with chassis that had been significantly altered in terms of aerodynamic
downforce. “Our development programme benefited a great deal from work we conducted in parallel with our seven partner
teams, which allowed us to analyse and compare all their feedback. Furthermore, our strenuous preparations helped to broaden our
research team’s field of expertise. “The rule that permits tyre companies to compete against each other in Formula One
drives our constant quest to come up with new ideas, to develop them and to remain ahead of the competition. It also creates a
valuable baseline that enables us to assess the quality of our work. Michelin applies the same competitive philosophy to every
motorsport discipline in which it competes. In addition to our recent F1 successes, last weekend’s victories in the New Zealand
round of the World Rally Championship and the MotoGP season-opener at Jerez have given us added cause for satisfaction. “For
this weekend’s race at Imola, which marks F1’s return to Europe, we have taken into account the frequently fierce braking and
the aggressive approach drivers tend to take with the kerbs. We also had to bear in mind the track’s distinctive characteristics,
because the surface isn’t uniform around the lap’s full length. The tyres specifications we have selected have been developed
with the aforementioned factors in mind. They are all new and they have not been used this season.” Full Michelin Preview
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