David Coulthard, Christian Klien and Tonio Liuzzi clocked up 89 laps between them in today’s two practice sessions. During the first practice, Tonio spun his RB1 into the gravel at Turn 12 and damaged a front left push rod. In the afternoon, Christian’s session was cut short when he turned too sharply at the first chicane (Turn 6 and 7), clipped the inside kerb and spun into the tyre barrier, damaging his car’s floor and suspension.

Throughout the day, the air temperature ranged between 20°C and 24°C, while track temperature rose from 30°C in the morning to 37°C in the afternoon.

David Coulthard (Car 14):
Chassis Number: 3
First Practice Position: 12; Best Time: 1:17.168; Laps: 7
Second Practice Position: 10; Best Time: 1:16.371; Laps: 26

“A pretty normal Friday really. We’ve been evaluating the tyres the best we can and the balance of the car isn’t so bad. Obviously, we’ll have to see where we can make changes to get closer to the pace, but the balance doesn’t feel too far away now and, ultimately, that’s a good sign. If that’s right, everything fits into place. We’ll just have to wait and see how our pace is relative to the competition tomorrow.”

Christian Klien (Car 15):
Chassis Number: 1
First Practice Position: 13; Best Time: 1:17.343; Laps: 10
Second Practice Position: 22; Best Time: 1:18.897; Laps: 5

“In the first session, I completed ten laps to get a feel for the track and see how the balance of the car was. It felt much better than it did ahead of the last two races – a lot more stable at the rear and easier to drive. I think that, definitely, the car is more competitive here than at previous races. In the second session, I was quite quick through the first timed section, the car had good balance and grip. But, I turned in at the chicane a bit too early, hit the kerb, lost the rear and went off.”

Tonio Liuzzi (Test Driver):
Chassis Number: 2
First Practice Position: 18; Best Time: 1:18.876; Laps: 16
Second Practice Position: 15; Best Time: 1:16.987; Laps: 25

“In the first session I had a spin and went into the gravel, which caused some stone damage, so we had to stop. I waited while the team changed some parts before completing the practice. In the morning we did quite a few runs, which was important for us to look at the performance of the tyres, but I felt that the car was better in the second session.”

Christian Horner, Sporting Director: “Unfortunately Christian made a mistake at the high-speed chicane (Turn 6 & 7) and had quite a heavy impact, which damaged some of the new aerodynamic update that has gone onto the cars this weekend. Christian’s car will be repaired overnight and he’ll be ready to go first thing in the morning. Generally our performance looks quite good, David’s times were very respectable, Tonio worked well through the tyre programme and I think we’re looking in reasonable shape.”

2005 French Grand Prix - Main Page
2005 French Grand Prix - Team and Driver Friday Practice Reports Page

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