27/06/2005
NEWS STORY
The midpoint of the season sees the return of Formula One to Europe for round 10 of the 2005 World Championship - the French Grand Prix. After a positive weekend in Canada, where Jenson Button celebrated his second pole position, and further progress in free practice and qualifying in Indianapolis, the team is looking forward to a more successful second half of the season.
Following the events of the US Grand Prix, the team is eager to get back racing in Magny Cours and has been focusing on an intensive test in Jerez this week in preparation.
The 4.4 km Circuit de Nevers in Magny Cours is well-known for its unusually smooth surface and grip levels to change throughout the day as temperatures rise and fall. This causes headaches for the drivers and engineers who have to chase the set-up as conditions change. Overtaking is notoriously difficult at Magny Cours - the track itself is made up of a combination of slow hairpins, medium-speed turns and fast chicanes - with the best opportunity being under braking for the Adelaide Hairpin.
Jenson Button: "I really enjoy racing in Magny Cours. The circuit surface is smooth and very flowing - which is how I prefer it. We had a reasonable result there in 2004, when I finished in 5th position, and hopefully we will be more competitive there this year. We hope to be a lot closer to the McLarens and Renaults than we were in Indy and we have had a positive test this week in Jerez, so I'm looking forward to the race."
Takuma Sato: "We showed the potential of the car at the last two races and although we were running a very different set-up package to the one we need at Magny Cours, we are confident that we should be strong there. We are carrying forward many positive aspects from the Jerez test this week and I believe that we can reproduce the performance and be as competitive as we were in North America and I am very positive going to the race next week. "
Gil de Ferran: "We came back from F1's North American tour quite encouraged by the performance of our car. This past week we have been testing in Jerez for three days evaluating tyres, aerodynamic developments and mechanical changes in view of the coming races in France and England. Given the fact that our last race in high downforce configuration was at the Nürburgring, and our performance there left something to be desired, much of our efforts in testing were concentrated on improving the aero specification in this configuration. We are hopeful that we will be fighting at the sharp end of the field again in Magny Cours."
Shuhei Nakamoto: "With a positive test in Jerez behind us, and fresh engines for the race, we have good reason to expect a strong showing in Magny Cours."