By steve
March 26 2003

The Jags qualified towards the rear of the pack with Pizzonia (15th), “driving conservatively”, out qualifying his more experienced team mate Mark Webber (16th). Mark later stated that he was pleased to be next to his team mate on the grid. The race was even more disappointing, with Pizzonia losing his wing in an incident on the first corner of the race. He was pushed from behind after slowing down to avoid the incident in which the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher hit the renault of Jarno Trulli. There was hope however as Mark weaved his way up to a very respectable 8th position, immediately behind Ralph Schumacher. Mark Later commented that he was being held up by the Williams.

Marks first pit-stop was very crap indeed, taking around thirty seconds more than it should have, because of a clutch problem. He returned to the race in 12th and again made his way up to 8th before retiring with an oil consumption problem. Pizzonia’s Race ended on lap 43, when his car spun into a corner, Pizzonia Later Blamed a brake problem.

Webbers comments, “there is a lot to be encouraged about when it comes to the pace of our race car. The fuel pick-up problem that has plagued us all weekend came and went throughout my race but nonetheless, the speed and balance were very good given the fuel strategy we employed. I managed to squeeze my way through the first corner incident and then began pushing as hard as I could.”

"The Michelin tyre worked very well today and we could have got points from this race today - even after the delay in the pit-lane after my first pit stop. That probably cost me around 30 seconds but once back out, the performance of the car shone through, albeit until lap 35 when we had no choice but to call it a day. The potential of this car is clear and we must remain calm, get our heads down and get on with the task of tapping into the car's true capability."

Pizzonias comments “My race effectively ended after the first corner incident. I was hit from behind and pushed into another car that caused the front wing damage."

"Coming into the pits on lap one cost me too much time to make any real impact on the race. Nonetheless, race experience is something that I am short of and it was important to keep pushing and getting mileage under my belt. The balance and feel of the Jaguar R4 was quite good but on lap 43, it all ended with what felt like a brake problem. The back end of the car snapped and I was a passenger as it spun into the gravel."

"My home race is next and given how much work is going into solving the niggles from this weekend, I am confident of making better progress at Interlagos."

Dr Mark Gillan, Head of Vehicle Performance made the following comments about the race "It's been a tough weekend right from the beginning. We have suffered several issues this weekend with the most prominent being the fuel pick-up problem. This raised its head again during the race but our strategy looked as if it had compensated for it. “

"The first corner incident affected several cars but it was certainly no fault of Antonio who ended up the victim. His front wing was damaged and having to pit at the end of the first lap effectively cost him his race. Mark, however, drove a storming race today but his points reward was robbed by a loss of engine oil problem. We were monitoring the problem throughout but it soon became clear that Mark was not going to finish the race and in an effort to avoid serious damage to the engine, we took pre-emptive action and called him in. “

"We are not entirely sure what caused Antonio to spin out of the race but it appears to be a brake problem. The pace of the Jaguar R4 was again very encouraging and upon examination of Mark's sector times, it is clear to see that he was right on the pace today, particularly in sectors one and two. Very impressive given the handicap he was carrying versus the fuel load. Both drivers have worked hard this weekend and their approach, despite the retirements, remains very professional and positive. It's Antonio's home race next at Interlagos in Brazil and everyone at Jaguar Racing will be working tirelessly to correct the frustrating issues that have affected us here this weekend. The pace is clearly there, no doubt. Making it reliable will, I'm sure, generate points and that's obviously what we are all now focused on doing."