Mat Coch writes:

The grid for this weekend's Australian Grand Prix could feature just twenty cars if Friday's practice is anything to go by. After two sessions it has become clear that while the usual protagonists remain the pace setters the gap to the back markers has grown.

It is news that has come as a shock to Virgin Racing, who, unlike Hispania, have been testing and developing its car for the season ahead. During the winter performance of the new car was acceptable if not blistering, with the team holding no concerns over its ability to qualify within the regulations.

Reintroduced for 2011 is the 107% rule, mandating that all cars be within 107% of the fastest time set during the first phase of qualifying. After a slow start in practice this weekend it's a point team boss John Booth had never considered.

"It's caught us a little bit by surprise how some of the teams have managed to optimize the new regulations so quickly," he admitted. "I think the gap from the front to the middle, and the middle to the back is quite large this year."

Using its unique CFD only approach it was hoped the team would make progress towards the midfield. After a difficult debut season which saw the team finish last in the constructors' championship it was expected that the new car would allow it to fight on more equal terms with the likes of Team Lotus, Sauber and Force India. However, the difficulties experienced during its debut season may well have seen it approach the new year too conservatively.

"We couldn't afford to have a start to the year like we had last year," says Booth. "We had to put the resource on the reliability."

In doing so however, the team may have given up too much ground. Testing and resource restrictions mean there is limited opportunity for the team to develop.

Booth however defends the team's decision not to implement KERS into the car. With limited resources and budget it was decided that the system didn't bring enough benefit for the money it would cost to implement. As a result the new car was designed without the system, implementing the system now would necessitate a new car.

Instead the team is focused on improving what it has while working hard on an upgrade that is expected in Turkey. "We're trying to close the gap on Red Bull," Booth explains. "I'm not being ridiculous and saying we're trying to beat Red Bull, but that is our target, to close the gap on Red Bull."

For this weekend however the team is as confident as it can be of meeting the 107% qualifying rule. "We're quite comfortable as things stand at the moment but if Red Bull are sandbagging by a large amount then it could bite us."