formula 1 racing

Team-by-team - Friday at Silverstone
07-10-2004

McLAREN-MERCEDES - ''It's good to see them back where they belong,'' said Michelin's Pierre Dupasquier after Kimi Raikkonen went P1 at Silverstone.

''I was sure the [19B] car would be good,'' said the Finn, ''after the test here in June. ''But there's nothing to celebrate yet. I'll save that for Sunday.''

Fourth-placed David Coulthard targeted a 'podium.'

SAUBER-PETRONAS - Giancarlo Fisichella is within a hundredth of the pace but he'll be penalised ten grid places after needing a blown engine changed.

''This new rear bodywork,'' said Peter Sauber, ''has really paid off. Giancarlo's time is a thankyou to everyone at Hinwil who have contributed.''

Felipe Massa (10th) said C23 is balanced, consistent and 'very stable.'

FERRARI - On rivals' home turf, Michael Schumacher modified the practice schedule because he and weather forecasters wrongly predicted English rain.

''We know the competition is tough,'' said the German.

Schumacher's pace for third was actually achieved on old tyres. ''So it's hard to make comparisons [with] the opposition,'' said technical director Ross Brawn.

Rubens Barrichello (6th) struggled to find a balance on new Bridgestones.

BAR-HONDA - Silverstone hero Jenson Button thought he'd be on the pace after a mighty June test, but somehow it was only good enough for fifth on Friday.

''We have a lot more work to do,'' tempered the Englishman.

Friday tester Anthony Davidson suffered a gear 'tooth' problem in the afternoon, and race team-mate Takuma Sato had 'hoped we would be stronger' for the Brit GP.

''It's all too easy to set unrealistic goals,'' boss Dave Richards added.

''A podium position should remain our target.''

BMW-WILLIAMS - Ralf Schumacher sub Marc Gene (7th) was the best blue-and-white car on track, but the Spaniard said FW26 didn't always 'behave as expected.'

''I'm reasonably happy with the car,'' 11th Juan Pablo Montoya added.

Australian-born technical director Sam Michael noted particularly the weather is 'colder compared to other tracks' here in overcast and rural Northamptonshire.

RENAULT - About a second off the pace, Renault's top star was Jarno Trulli (8th) while team-mate Fernando Alonso pushed-on for twelfth after a throttle problem.

''The decision on tyres is difficult,'' said engineer boss Pat Symonds.

Alonso made-up for the morning stoppage with a bigger afternoon workload. ''We know which areas we need to work on this evening,'' Symonds continued on Friday.

TOYOTA - It was a miserable and chilly day for the Cologne-based team, with Friday tester Ricardo Zonta heading the race pilots for 13th, 14th and 15th.

''There's definitely more we can get out of the car,'' said Olivier Panis.

Cristiano da Matta - who had a wheel-bearing problem in the afternoon - was not surprised as the TF104 had bumped about on track back at the test in June.

JAGUAR - Christian Klien headed a 17th-18th-19th string of green cars. ''I feel quite comfortable in the [R5] around here,'' said the rookie who's from Austria.

Mark Webber found the windy conditions 'frustrating.

''It was affecting my balance,'' said the Australian.

JORDAN-FORD - 'Friday' tester Timo Glock, of Germany, lost a wheel at 170km/h in flat-out Bridge and his car nearly overturned as it careered through the gravel.

''The team is currently investigating [it],'' said a spokeswoman, while head of engineering James Robinson reckons it related to 'increased fatigue loads.'

Glock said the crash was ''quite heavy. There's a lot of damage.''

Nick Heidfeld (20th) complained about the EJ14's balance, as did Giorgio Pantano. ''We need to make further improvements,'' said the former German.

MINARDI-COSWORTH - Gianmaria Bruni isn't far off the Jordans' pace after Friday - indeed, he was faster than Pantano. ''We really miss John,'' said the Roman.

He's referring to sporting director John Walton, who had a serious heart attack in the week. ''It would be fantastic to hear some good news about him.''

Zsolt Baumgartner was dead last after a gearbox problem.

NEXT RACE

RESULTS

INTERACTIVE
CIRCUIT

2004 CALENDAR

Forum

Contact us