By Huw Alban
June 17 2002

OrangeArrows look to be approaching the European Grand Prix with a note of caution. The team admit that the high downforce circuit should suit their car, but are aware of the importance of a good strategy and keeping an eye on the weather. Heinz-Harald Frentzen:

“The European Grand Prix is almost another home race for me, as with Hockenheim and Monaco, I have several of them! I know the track well and there are always a lot of supporters at the race so you usually get a nice atmosphere here. I have already seen the new track layout on television and the changes to the first corner should be safer and that is good. They should also make overtaking easier which should be interesting, but I will wait to see it for myself.”

Enrique Bernoldi:

“The Nürburgring is a good track. It’s quite an interesting one to drive as it has a nice selection of straights where you can get good speed, and some good corners, although most of them are quite tight. The new changes to the track should be interesting to see - as I know from my experience last year, it was very difficult to overtake on before. I was enjoying my race here last time though as I managed to make up places at the start and my car was running well. Unfortunately, I had a problem with my suspension later on so had to retire. It’s really important to me that I get a good result which reflects the car’s potential.”

Graham Taylor, OrangeArrows’ Chief Race Engineer:

“The Nürburgring has been modified since last year and we are yet to run on the new layout. Our simulations have shown that the circuit is still a high downforce track that requires cars to have a good set-up in order maximise the potential of the car. The A23 has run well on high downforce circuits, so it should suit our car. We will be keeping a close eye on the skies over the weekend, especially on Sunday, as the rain can come particularly quickly here so we will thus keep our strategy quite flexible. Heinz knows the track well which should allow us to use his knowledge to it’s best advantage and Enrique gained a lot of experience in running here last year and also in F3000 so hopefully we will be able to enjoy a good performance.”