30/07/2005
NEWS STORY
Jordan Grand Prix drivers, Narain Karthikeyan and Tiago Monteiro, continued to make good progress with chassis set-up during the final two practice sessions on Saturday and reported better handling. Due to an unscheduled change of engine for Monteiro after the free practice, he will start the race from the back of the grid as he only completed an installation lap in qualifying. With track temperatures rising as high as 50C, Karthikeyan had a clean lap and qualified in 18th position.
Narain Karthikeyan: My qualifying lap was quite clean but the air and track temperatures were very high, so it will be interesting to see what will happen during the Grand Prix. I also think the track was a bit slower compared to this morning. However, I do think we have a good strategy for tomorrow and I am pretty confident about our Bridgestone tyre choice as well.
Tiago Monteiro: We had some engine issues this morning in free practice. Therefore, we took the decision not to take any unnecessary risks for tomorrow's race and change the engine. We had to adapt our strategy and this explains why I only did an installation lap in order to make sure everything is fine and also to save fuel and tyres. It is a bit frustrating but this is part of the game. However, it is going to be a long race in very hot conditions, so anything could happen.
Adrian Burgess: First of all, I would like to thank Toyota for showing their faith in joining Jordan and Midland again next year, which will please everybody at the factory and the people here at the circuit. I would also like to welcome on board Johnny Herbert, who will be a welcome breath of fresh air as he is a very experienced and likeable character. There is no doubt that everybody will get on well with him. In practice this morning, we had a small issue with Tiago's engine and had to change our strategy. Narain had a good clean lap and we are happy with our strategy for tomorrow.