10/07/2004
NEWS STORY
Unpredictable weather over the Silverstone circuit today made for an interesting Saturday first qualifying session. Jaguar Racing drivers, Mark Webber and Christian Klien both had productive morning practice sessions but as they entered qualifying this afternoon the skies threatened to rain so the team took the decision to go slow in the first session, thus ensuring that they would be out early in the second session, prior to the rain possibly starting and also ensuring a good track temperature. The track did remain dry throughout the second session allowing Mark and Christian to qualify ninth and fourteenth respectively. The team will now focus on their preparation ahead of tomorrow's race.
Mark Webber: I am pleased with my qualifying time today and my grid position for tomorrow's race. The car is feeling good around here and the team has done an excellent job in preparing the R5. There was a small amount of oversteer on corners 11 and 12 but generally my lap was good and error free. The wind always plays a part here and I could feel it starting to pick up between the two sessions but everyone is in the same boat so we just have to make do with what we get weather wise. We have a good strategy in place tomorrow and I am looking forward to starting the race. I like racing here and I think that we will have a good battle ahead of us.
Christian Klien: This morning was a good practice session for us as we worked hard on our balance and general set-up of the car ahead of qualifying. Going into qualifying this afternoon I went slow in the first session to make sure that I could go out early in the second session and avoid any potential rain. My qualifying lap was not great for me and I am slightly disappointed with my time. I really pushed too hard and when you push too hard it costs you time, I also made a couple of minor errors all of which cost me some tenths. We have been working hard on our race strategy so I will be doing what I can tomorrow to move up the grid and race for points at the team's home Grand Prix.
Dr Mark Gillan Head of Vehicle Performance: The team has been working very well this weekend and we have been reliable on track. We focused on our set-up and balance in this morning's practice session and we were very much concentrating on both a good qualifying and a good race strategy, these need to work hand in hand in order to score points. The wind was picking up as we went into this afternoon's session and although this does have an effect on the balance of the car, the car remained balanced during long runs in the morning sessions. Mark drove an impressive clean lap this afternoon and I am pleased with his ninth grid place. Christian failed to optimise on his performance and his fourteenth place on the grid is not representative of his overall pace this weekend. It's our home race so we will be looking to give the crowds something to cheer about tomorrow.