Melbourne 2000: Team Previews
[
Arrows |
Benetton |
BAR |
Ferrari |
Jaguar |
Jordan |
McLaren |
Minardi |
Prost |
Sauber |
Williams |
Bridgestone
]
Arrows [start]
Qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix was a lottery with three red flags to retrieve braking boards that had fallen on the track and a heavy rain storm with just under 17 minutes left to run. This left the Arrows Supertec A21s of Jos Verstappen and Pedro de la Rosa in 14th and 16th on the grid. The times were 1min 15.704secs for Jos and 1min 16.002secs for Pedro.
Jos Verstappen
"Obviously I am very disappointed. I was really looking forward to the last run. It is so close you could be in fifth position or where we are now with our time. As a team we deserved to be a little bit better than we are at the moment. At the end I think we have a very competitive car, and it does look good for the other races."
Pedro de la Rosa
"We didn't get much right today. There is nothing I can say. We didn't get the right timing with the weather and without doubt we should have been further up. Having said that it's done, and I am now going to work hard on a good race set-up as the car has potential."
Tom Walkinshaw
"There isn't much to say about a session like this. We know we could have been higher up the grid, and I am sure we are not the only team to say this. We were at least able to try the car on wets in case it rains tomorrow."
Benetton [start]
The Mild Seven Benetton Formula 1 team had a mixed afternoon during qualifying ahead of the Brazilian Grand Priz at Interlagos after a bizarre session that was stopped three times because an advertising hoarding had fallen onto the track.
Giancarlo Fisichella, driving chassis B200/02 rewarded the team's hard work with fifth place on the grid, setting a lap time of 1m15.375s. Alexander Wurz, in chassis B200/03 was less fortunate, and due to the stoppages could only manage 13th fastest with a time 1.15.664. The fact that the first 16 cars on the grid were covered by under two seconds shows how close the field is.
Benetton Formula 1's top personnel were buoyed by Fisichella's performance, but also with the way that the mechanics and engineers worked during the session.
The team's Managing Director Flavio Braitore was pleased with how his new team had performed. "This is a great result for the team. Fisichella did a very good job as did Wurz, but he was penalised by the red flags so was very unlucky. In these two days I found a team that is extremely motivated with a great desire to get back to the top. The engine has worked well for us this weekend and 5th position is an encouraging result for the future of the team."
The team's technical director Pat Symonds also applauded both of the drivers' work. "This was a very mixed afternoon with a great result for Giancarlo but I have a lot of sympathy for Alex got who caught very badly by the very unusual conditions we had in qualifying today. I think the main tribute though must go to the whole team who have worked very hard this weekend in getting the cars set up so well and have coped with these difficult conditions in an excellent manner."
The Mild Seven Benetton Playlife team will next be on track in Sunday's warm-up session, where all of the drivers and engineers get a final chance to work on race set-up ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
British American Racing [start]
Ricardo Zonta produced the best qualifying performance of his short Formula One career in Sao Paulo this afternoon, putting his Lucky Strike Reynard BAR Honda in eighth position for tomorrow's Brazilian Grand Prix. In his home race, scene of his huge accident last year, and just two days after his 24th birthday, Ricardo achieve this result in front of his friends and family after a bizarre hour of qualifying.
The advertising hoardings down the main straight were working themselves loose and falling on the track below. On the third occasion one of the boards struck the flying Prost of Jean Alesi, who was flat out at over 300 kmh, but the Frenchman was unhurt. The session was stopped three times as the second qualifying period of the season descended into farce. The huge crowd showed its displeasure at the proceedings, jeering at officials as they tried to clean the circuit.
BAR Honda team mate Jacques Villeneuve suffered a frustrating session. Having gone off the track on his second run, the Canadian lost a lot of time in the garage, as his car was prepared. He recovered to set a top ten time, but his attempts to improve further were repeatedly frustrated by the red flags. Ultimately a rain shower soaked the track, leaving Jacques in tenth position, just 0.14 seconds away from fifth place, but BAR was still able to celebrate having both cars qualify in the top ten for the first time.
Ricardo Zonta
"I am really happy to be on row four in my home country. I really think that we could have found another couple of tenths, but maybe that's being greedy. The car was well balanced this afternoon, despite the track time we lost this weekend and the engine was great. I hope we can now follow this with a strong race tomorrow and score points like we did in Australia, but this time I want to actually cross the line in the points."
Jacques Villeneuve
"We had a horrible qualifying session and it is a shame because we had been showing really competitive times in free practice. We had not really set a time before all the drama with the advertising hoardings. I made a little mistake on my second run, went off and that cost us some time in the garage. Then when we went back out, we had the run of red flags. It did not look very professional for the sport and it was frustrating for sure, but that's life!"
Takefumi Hosaka - Managing Director, Honda R&D
"I think Jacques was particularly unlucky today. He was attacking on two occasions when the red flag came and then it rained as well. Ricardo did a very good job this afternoon. We have had no problem at all today with the engines and hopefully we will complete the race again with both drivers. If we can do so, I think we should score more points."
Ferrari [start]
Jean Todt
"This was a really strange session with three red flags and the rain which arrived for the last fifteen minutes. We could have improved our times, but the circumstances did not permit it. The cars were well set up and it's obvious we would have preferred to be on the front row. But I think we can fight for the win in the race. Tomorrow I hope that we have the necessary reliability to get to the end of the Grand Prix. There is a chance of changeable weather conditions which will make the race even more uncertain and difficult."
Michael Schumacher
"Overall, I am happy with the way things have gone. Just as in Australia, looking at my sector times shows it could have been close. I am pretty confident for the race and I know we can be quick enough in the wet or the dry. On my second run I went off the track and damaged the car's chassis over the kerb, which is why I had to take the spare car. As for the incidents with the advertising panels, it could have been very dangerous if someone had been hurt, but the organisers did not do this on purpose."
Rubens Barrichello
"I am satisfied given how little I was able to do. I am very disappointed about all the red flags which interrupted the session, especially the last one when I was on a quick lap. I could have got a really good time. The car went well and the set up was good. If it rains tomorrow, the track conditions will be very difficult because the surface is so slippery. We can be very competitive in the race and this is a track where you can overtake."
Jaguar [start]
Eddie Irvine
"It's close isn't it! I could be a tenth slower and looking a complete idiot. To be honest we probably have a little bit of an edge on the others, which is why we're ahead of them. But it is very close. The car has still got the same problems; there's a lot of grip I can't use because of the balance. There's too much difference between the entry and exit of the corners - that's the problem. It doesn't matter - we'll see tomorrow. Hopefully I can beat Fisichella. Maybe the Jordans can be quicker, but there's not much in it to be honest. We've been so close to them in testing."
Johnny Herbert
"I'm disappointed because this morning it didn't look so bad. I was expecting to gain a lot more time in the mid-section, which I never seemed to do. Just comparing myself with Eddie it seems I lost a bit of time under braking in a couple of places, which at the moment seems to be my major problem."
Jackie Stewart
"I think it would have been tough to hold that place, but we could have done it. It's all very close in that little window of time - there are five or six cars that could have all been in that slot. But I said that we had a good chance of being in the top six if we got everything running. We've had some problems here, but not on the same scale as Melbourne."
Jordan [start]
Jordan's Chief Executive, Eddie Jordan
"Today was very frustrating in every way. The interruptions caused by the advertising boards did not do any favours to our sport. But this cannot take away from our performance today which did not come up to expectations. We looked good this morning but it only takes a couple of problems and you are back down the grid. Let's hope for better things tomorrow."
HH Frentzen
"Some teams were lucky today, others were not so lucky, like us. I was held up in my first run by traffic and then in the second run it was spitting with rain. From then on every time I wanted to go out there was a problem with the advertising boards falling on the track, so it was very frustrating, and these interruptions, plus the weather, meant I was not able to improve on my time. But we have a good race set up and I hope to be able to move up the field tomorrow."
J Trulli
"I was not lucky today. I went out on my first run and spun off at turn six - I don't know why since I was taking that corner quite easily. Perhaps there was dirt on the track but for whatever reason I lost the car. I went out in the spare car but had electronics problems which meant I could not select gears properly. My mechanics did an amazing job to repair the gear box and get me out again by the end of the session, but it was just too wet on the track by then. It is disappointing to be so far down the grid as we looked strong this morning and should have been up behind McLaren and Ferrari. I hope to have some luck on my side tomorrow and do well in the race."
McLaren [start]
The West McLaren Mercedes team will start from the front row in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix. Mika Hakkinen's pole position time was 1:14.111 while David Coulthard set a time of 1:14.285 in a session which was stopped three times due to circuit signage falling down on the track. This is the team's second consecutive one-two qualifying performance in Brazil.
Mika Hakkinen
'I'm very happy to have claimed my third consecutive pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix. It was a complicated qualifying and I feel I could've been even quicker if the session had not been disrupted by the rain. I feel confident for tomorrow's race.'
David Coulthard
'It's a little frustrating that I didn't manage another qualifying run in the dry but I'm positive for tomorrow's race. From the very first lap I did this weekend, the car has felt good. We have found a good balance and I go into the race knowing that I can be quick every single lap.'
Ron Dennis
'Calling this an interesting practice is somewhat of an understatement. One anticipates when coming to Brazil the odd glitch but confetti signage is not one of them. But as always it was the same for everybody and I don't think the rain or other interruptions influenced the outcome of practice, which off course in the end was very satisfactory. As always we are now focusing on the race.'
Norbert Haug
'The second Grand Prix of the year and the second time both cars are on the front row certainly makes our team very happy. Anyway it is tomorrow's result which counts, but I think we are well prepared. I looked into the statistics after today's qualifying session and I think its very impressive to realise that since Mika claimed his first pole 37 races ago today's pole position is his 23rd. It would be a great reward for the whole team, which is behind these results, to score a victory tomorrow.'
Minardi [start]
Marc Gene
"To go out immediately in the first part of the session due to the risk of rain, was the right strategy. The car behaved well and I feel satisfied because I managed to improve my time over the morning like only a few others did."
Gaston Mazzacane
"Unfortunately today was not the qualifying session I expected. I paid for the mistakes I made over the morning which prevented me from running regularly during the second free practice session. I was, therefore, not able to prepare myself adequately for qualifying. After experiencing problems on my car I switched to the spare car and I think I set a good lap time but in the end, I could not take any advantage from the remaining laps due to the bad weather conditions."
Gabriele Rumi
"Marc's performance couldn't have been better as today's since he improved his time over the morning. If we consider that almost all the other Teams have more potential for qualifying, which we don't have, to do better wasn't possible indeed. This morning Gaston made a mistake during his first run and he did not continue the session thus jeopardising his chances for the afternoon's qualifying. I believe that tomorrow the situation will be better balanced and we will be more competitive than many others."
The T-car (chassis 01) for tomorrow's race is prepared for Marc Gene.
Prost [start]
Jean Alesi
"I am obviously a bit disappointed by this fifteenth position. But I am truly very happy of the job we have been able to accomplish in two days. The car has shown throughout this weekend that it is getting really better in performance. Now I have to work together with the team to find the best set-ups before the race tomorrow. Indeed, this grand prix is really unpredictable, and we can do very well during the race, even starting from this position. Now I know I have a competitive car, and I can only be confident and determined for tomorrow."
Nick Heidfeld
"Needless to say, I am not happy to be in 19th position. In fact, we knew it would be difficult with all the time we lost yesterday, which meant I did not start this afternoon with the best set-up. Moreover, I had to go back to the spare car; because my car was not completely ready after the engine replacement, because of a clutch problem. I feel I really could have improved a lot in the end, after a change we made in the set-up, and my first intermediate time was very promising. Unfortunately the rain started to fall and there was a succession of red flags, which prevented me from getting a better position."
Alain Prost
"The team has done an enormous amount of work today with two engine changes in succession, one for Nick at the end of the morning session when he had a failure and one for Jean at his request before qualification. This qualifying session was very complicated but has given us a lot of information even though it was interrupted by the red flags and the capricious rain on a difficult circuit. The teams are all very close together. We were only three-tenths away from fifth place. Jean deserved truly to have a better result in view of his performances since the start of the weekend and he is perhaps frustrated. But the important thing is that he is more and more satisfied with the chassis. It was a shame for Nick to have suffered so many problems all weekend on a circuit, which he does not know. I am however very confident that he will give his best tomorrow as this race will still be very open and the grid positions here are not the only determining factor."
Sauber [start]
Peter Sauber (Team Principal): "In both free practice and qualifying this afternoon we suffered failures of the rear wings on both RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS C19s.
While we are at the track it is not possible for us to analyse the cause of the problem to our satisfaction. For that reason we did not continue the qualifying. Since we cannot conduct sufficient investigation until we return to Hinwil, and cannot therefore effect a satisfactory cure overnight, we also have no option but to withdraw from tomorrow's Brazilian Grand Prix.
We are very sorry to disappoint our drivers, especially as this is Pedro's home Grand Prix, and we apologise to our partners and suppliers. I am sure that they will respect and support our decision.
Our prime commitment has always been to the safety of our drivers - and of other drivers in the race - and this left us with no alternative but to take this unfortunate decision."
Williams [start]
Weather: Sunny at the beginning, rain at the end
Jenson Button and Ralf Schumacher will start from 9th and 11th positions respectively for the 2000 Brazilian Grand Prix. Button's performance is impressive considering the lack of mileage he achieved during the second free practice session as his car suffered an engine failure that again allowed him to complete only a few laps.
Jenson Button
"It's really good to have qualified in the top 10 but I must say that I was happier when most drivers had done about six or seven laps and I was in sixth position. Being ninth is good but again, who wouldn't have liked to be further up the grid? The team did a good job, the mechanics especially for changing the engine so quickly between free practice and qualifying -I really must say thanks to them. At the end of qualifying when it was raining I went out, more to try the car in wet conditions than to achieve a better time, obviously."
Ralf Schumacher
"Unfortunately I went in the wrong direction with the set-up of the car, as the rear of my car was a little bit too stiff. Even though we changed this during qualifying, eventually I could not manage to achieve anything better than 11th. Anyway, I am quite confident for the race, first because in the free practice the FW22 behaved really well in race conditions, secondly because it might rain tomorrow and this could be positive for us."
Frank Williams
"One half of our team benefited from the early curtailment of practice due to the weather. Certainly Ralf suffered because of that rain. I think we are quite competitive but then I've also noted there are almost fourteen cars contained within one second and they too could rightly say they are quite competitive."
Gerhard Berger (BMW Motorsport Director)
"This is a good qualifying result for us. After what we achieved in Melbourne this is the second positive outcome as newcomers. The times between the fifth and 15th position are very close - a tenth of one second can make the difference of even two grid rows in our surrounding. Being interrupted so many times upset Ralf's rhythm and the rain took away from Jenson his last chance to make his already outstanding time even better. But everybody had to cope today with the breaks and the wet."
Bridgestone [start]
Not present at this time
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