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2005 Australia GP
Team Quotes - Friday 4 March
Jean Todt: "The first day of the first Grand Prix of the season was different to usual for various reasons. First and foremost, the championship starting today is the longest in the history of Formula 1. Then there is the introduction of new technical and sporting regulations - one engine for two Grands Prix, one set of tyres for qualifying and the race, among the most important changes- which have given a different flavour to what we were used to seeing on a Friday last year. There has been an immediate effect as a result of the engine rule, with all the teams doing less laps. These three days are very important because, for the first time since winter testing, we will get a reasonably clear picture of the pecking order between the teams. Unlike our rivals, we decided to come to Australia with an updated version of last year's car, the F2004 M, preferring to take as much time as possible in the design phase of the F2005, which was launched exactly a week ago in Maranello. Tyres will play a decisive role and we know we can count on a great partner in Bridgestone, in whom we have total confidence."
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."
Lucky Strike BAR Honda's 2005 season got underway in Melbourne today with the first free practice sessions of this weekend's curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix. After seven intensive weeks and 28,000 kilometres of pre-season testing, the BAR Honda 007 finally made its race weekend debut at the Albert Park circuit.
Race drivers Jenson Button and Takuma Sato were at the wheel of Championship car numbers 3 and 4, whilst third driver Anthony Davidson, frequently the star of Friday Free Practice last season, supported the engineering team's performance analysis from outside of the cockpit as the team's second place success in the 2004 Championship precludes the use of the third car.
As is typically the case with day one on Melbourne's park roads, the morning's limited running was determined by the dirty track conditions. Once the circuit had cleaned up, the team were able to focus on conducting back to back tyre comparisons and general set-up work, adapting the 007 to the Albert Park track characteristics.
At the end of this afternoon's second session, the team were encouraged by a generally positive and trouble-free start to the weekend.
Geoffrey Willis: "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."
Shuhei Nakamoto: "A reasonable result for us on the first day of the new season. We have had no engine issues today and I am very happy to be back in 'race mode' here in Melbourne."
The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team had a solid first day of practice in Melbourne today. The day's programme centred principally on tyre choice for the race on Sunday, and the team will analyse data tonight in order to take the correct decision.
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.
On the first Friday of the 2005 F1 season Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld had two uneventful practice sessions for the Australian Grand Prix with both the drivers achieving reasonable mileage.
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.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): We are happy with our Friday's practice. The most important work was the choice of the right tyre compound. Therefore both the drivers concentrated on long runs in order to compare the different tyres under race conditions. For this tyre evaluation we didn't use our full engine rev potential, but we didn't limit the lap numbers. Both our drivers achieved more mileage than the average of the other teams.
Team McLaren Mercedes drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya finished in second and fifth positions overall after setting fastest times of 1:25.676 and 1:26.227 respectively during today's two Free Practice sessions. Kimi completed 15 laps in total whilst Juan Pablo did 18. Third driver Pedro de la Rosa undertook the majority of the running and set a fastest time of 1:25.376 and completed 46 laps. Pedro was the fastest driver overall.
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."
Norbert Haug: "A productive first Friday free practice under the new regulations. All three drivers ran tyre comparison programmes with Pedro undertaking different race weekend simulation programmes without any problems."
SAUBER PETRONAS drivers Felipe Massa and Jacques Villeneuve finished sixth and 16th respectively after today's first practice sessions for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
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."
Red Bull Racing test driver Vitantonio Liuzzi was fastest in the opening free practice session as the 2005 Formula One season began in Melbourne. The Italian ended the day fourth on aggregate after spinning off the track during the afternoon. His team mates David Coulthard and Christian Klien were 5th and 10th in the first session, 12th and 17th in the second.
Günther Steiner, Technical Director: The main objective today was to establish which tire 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.
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."
Making their debuts for Jordan Grand Prix today at Albert Park in Melbourne, Tiago Monteiro and Narain Karthikeyan were joined by third driver Robert Doornbos for both Free Practice sessions. Monteiro and Doornbos worked steadily through a chassis set-up and Bridgestone tyre programme without any major technical hitches, however Karthikeyan's track time was cut short in the first session by a small oil leak that was rectified for the second session.
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.
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.
Later in the day, Minardi issued the following:
Mr Justice Hapersberger of the Supreme Court of the State of Victoria this afternoon (Friday) 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.
Bridgestone's new Potenza Formula One tyres made their 2005 debut today on day one of the Australian Grand Prix. New tyre regulations mean each driver is permitted just four sets of tyres over each race weekend. On Friday, each driver will run two sets of differing specification and that evening, they will choose which specification to run for the remainder of the weekend. They are then expected to use just one set for both the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning qualifying sessions as well as the entire race. With this in mind, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro and the Jordan Grand Prix team got to work today testing their new "longer life" tyres. Although little running was completed on the dusty track in this morning's session and reigning Champion Michael Schumacher completed just three installation laps, by the afternoon, both Bridgestone teams were getting some productive running in. Unfortunately for Christijan Albers and Patrick Friesacher, neither Minardi driver ran in the practice sessions.
Hisao Suganuma, Bridgestone Motorsport Technical Manager: "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."
Ross Brawn, Technical Director of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: "First day of running, getting used to the new format and it looks like everyone was running fairly similar programmes. We didn't do much in the morning but got in a reasonable programme in the afternoon. We did more laps on one tyre [specification] than the other but we've got enough information to make a judgement. Ideally we'd be doing 20-lap runs to make a judgement on the tyres but that's not possible now with the new engine rules. We've had to economise a little on the engine mileage but we've done enough to make a judgement that we'll be happy with. The car is handling quite well and we don't have any major problems. So far we're quite pleased with the work we've done and the position we're in."
Pedro de la Rosa (Team McLaren Mercedes/Michelin) set the quickest time on the opening day of the 2005 Formula One season. The Spaniard lapped in 1m 25.376s towards the end of the second free practice session, 0.300s clear of team-mate – and closest rival – Kimi Räikkönen.
Italian rookie Vitantonio Liuzzi had the distinction of setting fastest time during this morning's free practice – the first official Formula One session in which he has taken part. RBR's test and reserve driver lapped in 1m 25.967s, more than half a second clear of Pedro de la Rosa. He spun off at Turn Three during the afternoon session, however.
Minardi missed today's free practice sessions. The Anglo-Italian team needs special dispensation to run its existing PS04B chassis, which does not comply fully with the latest F1 regulations. Minardi can only take part if the other nine teams agree – and that has yet to be resolved. Minardi's 2005 challenger, the PS05, is still under development.
Jordan newcomer Narain Karthikeyan – India's first F1 racer – collected the first fine of the 2005 season. He was penalised $6,750 for speeding in the pit lane when the new season was just two minutes old.
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."
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