By Huw Alban
May 8 2002

OrangeArrows are on a roll, swept along by the good feelings of scoring a points finish at the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago. Team Technical Director, Mike Coughlan, now believes that the team can realistically aim for a podium finish this year. The last time Arrows were on the podium was in 1997, when Damon Hill set up the then Yamaha powered Arrows A18 beautifully for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Damon took the lead from Michael Schumacher in the first few laps and disappeared into the distance, but experienced a hydraulic problem on the last but one lap. Arrows' first race win was snatched away by the Williams of Jacques Villeneuve on the last lap, but Damon managed to nurse his sick car home in a well deserved 2nd place (I remember that day well).

So far this year, any thoughts of a podium finish were those of fantasy as the team struggled to get on top of reliability issues. In the last few weeks the team have been testing and the fruits of their work were immediately apparent in the fact that the A23 ran without problem for almost the entire weekend at the last Grand Prix. The team tested again at Silverstone last week, without any major problems, allowing the team the opportunity to get some more testing mileage in.

On the back of this good feeling, Mike Coughlan has voiced considerable enthusiasm for the team's chances over the next few races. "After Barcelona, the next target is the podium obviously," he was quoted as saying recently by Formula1.com. "It is a relief to get a result under our belts. But it is more of a relief to be competitive, be on the pace and score points, because until now we had only had one other finish, Malaysia, that was all."

Adding to Coughlan's euphoria is the fact that the A23 wasn't acually suited to the Barcelona track but was still very competitive there. This gives a strong indication that the team have made significant progress in the development of the A23, and adds weight to early quotes from the team and it's drivers that the car was a good platform to build from. "We have historically gone well at Barcelona but the circuit didn't especially suit the car," Coughlan added.

Can OrangeArrows get on the podium this year ? Well, I know one Arrows fan that would love to see that happen :o) and it would certainly make the team more attractive to potential sponsors - something any team could do with at the moment. As for their chances - well assuming that the rumours that development will cease during the second half of the season are not true, and considering that rate at which the A23's competitiveness is improving with each development session, then I'd say that it is entirely possible. As for the likelyhood of it actually happening - with the first four grid positions sewn up by Ferrari and Williams, the Arrows team will need cracking reliability from their car and an incident (either mechanical or accidental) to strike those two teams to even get a sniff of a chance. But hey ! What I wouldn't give to see it happen !