Team Rundown: Saturday 2003 Brazilian GP

By Andrew Hooper
April 6 2003

	Team Rundown: Malaysian Saturday Qualifying
	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: Rubens Barrichello 2nd, Michael Schumacher 7th. Rubens Barrichello gave his fans something to cheer about as he took pole at his home event, beating David Coulthard by just one hundredths of a second. "In the past the pressure from the public was a handicap for me but now it has become an advantage. It was a good lap. I think that I have the right strategy for tomorrow but we will have to see what happens." Michael Schumacher was clearly on a different strategy and qualified seventh. "I made a mistake in Turn One," Michael said. "That cost me some time. Seventh place may not look very good but we will only see what it all means tomorrow." BMW WilliamsF1 Team: Ralf Schumacher 6th, Juan Pablo Montoya 9th. The Williams team are confident that the strategy adopted will pay off in the race, even if qualifying appears to have been disappointing. "We could see clear progress in both the aerodynamics and the chassis which were due to the changes with the front wing and the gearbox. I did some mistakes and was too careful braking for Turn Seven and Turn Eight. I had understeer and that cost me two or three tenths." Montoya also had understeer and lost time in the final corner. "I think I lost three or four tenths there," he said. "But I think we are well prepared for the race." West McLaren Mercedes: David Coulthard 2nd, Kimi Raikkonen 4th. "We are quite comfortable with the result," said managing director Martin Whitmarsh. "David did a very good job and the result is good for the crowd, good for Brazil and good for Formula 1. I have a suspicion that he was tempted to go with a lighter fuel load than his team mate. Michael may be tanked up with fuel but he will still be a threat even from that far back. But he still has to get past those ahead of him. Kimi make a mistake on his lap but we are still in a good position for the race. Both our drivers are very good racers." David Coulthard was also upbeat about his chances. "I am not too disappointed. We are where we wanted to be and we will see tomorrow what happens with the strategies. We are in good shape." Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: Jarno Trulli 5th, Fernando Alonso 10th. Jarno Trulli was happy with his qualifying. "My lap was very good," he said. "I am where I expected to be. The car is flying in the second sector and it shows how good our chassis is. From the point of strategy I think we are OK." Fernando Alonso was rather more disappointed. "It was quite a competitive lap time even if I would have liked to be a bit higher up," he said. "That said I know I have the right strategy. The target tomorrow is to score points." Sauber Petronas: Nick Heidfeld 12th, Heinz-Harald Frentzen 14th. "I was pretty happy with my car all day," said Heinz-Harald Frentzen. "It was consistent and driveable and we have a good setup for whatever happens tomorrow." Nick Heidfeld was less happy. "I lost out a bit having to run so early in the session because the track was obviously getting faster," he said. "But the car was the best it has been all weekend." Peter Sauber admitted that the team needs to work on the car. "We know that we are a bit too slow and we will work on that for the future. We are confident that Bridgestone will do the same." Jordan Ford: Giancarlo Fisichella 8th, Ralph Firman 16th. Giancarlo Fisichella gave the Jordan team something to celebrate with an impressive eighth place. "I did a very good lap," he said. "The car was reasonably good but I didn't think we would get on to the first four rows. I am pleased." Ralf Firman was forced to change the set-up of his car between sessions. This was an improvement but he made a mistake on his qualifying run. "It was still my best lap time of the weekend so overall I am happy because the car is good for the race." Jaguar Racing: Mark Webber 3rd, Antonio Pizzonia 17th. There was much celebrating in the Jaguar pit after qualifying with Mark Webber narrowly failing to take pole position, ending up third fastest, just three one-hundredths of a second slower than Barrichello's pole position. "As a team we have done well this weekend," said Webber. "I am happy. We have had a tough start to the year and we have yet to see the chequered flag so we want to see some points on the board tomorrow. I lost a bit of time in Turn Nine but it was a good lap. I was not expecting to be that high up. the track had changed a lot from the morning but it was best to be conservative, stick with the beast you know and hope that she looks after you." Team principal Tony Purnell admitted that he was very surprised. "I think that Mark might have made a mistake in the final sector it is stellar. Absolutely stellar." Lucky Strike BAR Honda: Jenson Button 11th, Jacques Villeneuve 13th. "It was a trouble-free day for us," said technical director Geoff Willis. "As usual it is difficult to know where we are. All I can say is that we are in reasonably good shape for the race." Jenson Button was fairly happy with his performance by Jacques Villeneuve was not. "It wasn't a very good lap," said Jacques. "As I was accelerating out of Turn One the engine noise changed and I seemed to lose power, that cost me time although I cannot say how much. I just hope it does not affect my race." European Minardi Cosworth: Jos Verstappen 19th, Justin Wilson 20th. The team was using hard rubber and hopes that temperatures on Sunday will be higher than today. "It could possibly be a good race for us," said team boss Paul Stoddart, "particularly if we can capitalize on mistakes made by others." Panasonic Toyota Racing: Olivier Panis 15th, Cristiano da Matta 18th. "I am really sorry for the team," said Olivier Panis. "We had a really good car this morning. We were very happy but then I made a mistake in the second sector. I apologise for that and I intend to make up for it tomorrow." Cristiano da Matta was still struggling to catch up after the rains on Friday. "We did not get a good set-up for the dry," he said. "The car is still handling badly, sliding around and is generally difficult to drive." Bridgestone: Hisao Suganuma: "We are very pleased for Rubens. Today's pole shows that the new rules are making the grid more interesting. We can expect to see most cars go for two stops tomorrow." Michelin: Pierre Dupasquier: "We are happy with the result today. Congratulations to Mark Webber. Without a small mistake in the last corner, he could have been on pole. having five Michelin cars in the top 6 is not too bad."