Team Rundown: Saturday 2003 Australian GP

By Andrew Hooper
March 8 2003

 

 

  
Team Rundown: Australia Saturday Qualifying
 
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: Michael Schumacher 1st, Rubens Barrichello 2nd.

"Everything was perfect," said Michael Schumacher. "The third sector of the circuit has traditionally been our strong point in the last few years and it was again. But with the new qualifying format you just go out and drive. There is no time to think about settings and fuel loads. You just do it. My lap was right on the limit. There was no margin left."

Rubens Barrichello was close to Michael's pace early in the lap but was rather taken aback to find Kimi Raikkonen going slowly in front of him.

"If you expect an empty track you tend to lose concentration a little if you see warning flags and pieces of debris on the circuit. That affected me a little. Apart from that the car was behaving well."



BMW Williams F1 Team: Juan Pablo Montoya 3rd, Ralf Schumacher 9th.

Juan Pablo Montoya was very happy with his third place on the grid even if the time was nine-tenths slower than pole.

"I was especially pleased because we saw this morning how consistent the car is in race trim. In the warm up the car was behaving very strangely and I went off twice at the first corner. The guys had a lot to do to change the set-up and they were working right up to a few minutes before I went out. That really paid off."

Ralf Schumacher admitted that he had again made a mistake and put this down to the fact that he had not had a good time on Friday.

"I was on the track early because of what happened yesterday," he said. "The track was definitely getting quicker as the session went on."



West McLaren Mercedes: David Coulthard 11th, Kimi Raikkonen 15th.

The McLaren team had a very disappointing session with both drivers making mistakes and running off the track.

"Everyone knew before starting out that with the one-lap qualifying format there is no room for errors," said Ron Dennis. "We have paid for that."

Both drivers were disappointed with their performances.

"I went off and picked up a puncture and that was why I was going so slowly on my slowing-down lap."

David Coulthard overshot slightly at the first corner.



Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: Jarno Trulli 12th, Fernando Alonso 10th.

The Renault team had a very disappointing session as technical director Mike Gascoyne explained.

"Our drivers have made a series of mistakes. Without this we could have been on the second row on the grid."

"We did the best we could," said Fernando Alonso, "but we don't know what fuel loads our rivals are running and we are happy with the choices for the race.

"This qualifying was very strange. The car was well-balanced this morning but this afternoon it was understeering. I expected better."



Sauber Petronas: Heinz-Harald Frentzen 4th, Nick Heidfeld 7th

Heinz-Harald Frentzen seemed very cool about his fourth place on the grid.

"The car was better balanced today and I am pretty happy. I had a bit of trouble at the second chicane but the car felt good. We will have to wait until the race to see how good our strategy is."

Nick Heidfeld pushed his car to the limit and reckoned that it was a good lap.

"I could have gone faster," he said, "but it was a good effort considering the amount of track time that was lost."



Jordan Ford: Giancarlo Fisichella 13th, Ralph Firman 17th.

"My lap was OK," said Giancarlo Fisichella. "We have a lot of work to do on the car to get to where we want to be to qualify in the top 10. We have worked hard to find a balance for the race so we will have to wait and see how it works out."

Ralph Firman said he had done a good lap.

"More importantly, however, I was able to get a good feel for the car in preparation for the race. I had a bit of understeer but generally the balance was good. We have got through a lot of work and I feel good about the race."



Jaguar Racing: Mark Webber 14th, Antonio Pizzonia 18th.

Mark Webber admitted that he made the same mistake at Turn One as he did on Friday.

"It is not easy," he said. "The last sector was very good but we were struggling with adhesion in the first sector and that really cost us. It was a real balancing act because I wanted to keep up my aggression level and it was just a bit too much. But it could have been worse."

Antonio Pizzonia was reasonably pleased with his performance.

"I lost a lot of time this morning because of the brake problem but I had a pretty clean run. We will see how our strategy works out in the race."



Lucky Strike BAR Honda: Jacques Villeneuve 6th, Jenson Button 8th.

Jacques Villeneuve: "Today we knew we were competitive and I am disappointed with my lap. It was nothing special. However I feel I can fight for a podium from here although reliability is still a concern."

Jenson Button was also not very happy despite being eighth on the grid.

" The car was a bit twitchy," he said. "It was not the same as this morning."



European Minardi Cosworth: Justin Wilson No time, Jos Verstappen No time

The Minardi team went for the unusual strategy of having both drivers pitting at the end of their flying laps so the cars will not be going into parc fermé. This will be an advantage if it rains on Sunday.

"We took a risky strategy," said Paul Stoddart. "If we get a wet start tomorrow, and the chances of that are 30-35%, then it may work out in our favour. We have nothing to lose. We double-checked the regulations and we are confident that we were not breaching any rule but be sure we will not be doing this at every race."



Panasonic Toyota Racing: Olivier Panis 5th, Cristiano da Matta 16th,

Olivier Panis was very happy to be fifth on the grid.

"It is great to be at the front," he said. "I think we did a really good job today and made the right choice of tyres. Now we have to wait and see how our strategy goes in the race."

Cristiano da Matta was less happy because of a clutch problem in the morning which meant he could not take part in the warm-up session.

"I was expecting a clear run and I was surprised to find Heidfeld going around in front of me. Psychologically it slows you down. I am on a different strategy to Olivier and I hope to get some points."



Bridgestone:

Hisao Suganuma: "I am pretty happy to see four Bridgestone cars in the top six. Of course fuel loads will play a role which makes it difficult to judge how things will be in the race but I expect a good race tomorrow and we are sure that all our tyres will be consistent throughout."



Michelin:

Pierre Dupasquier: "There were no real surprises compared to last year. Some of the young drivers cracked under pressure but that is to be expected. Our products suit the track well."
 
 
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