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Junkie
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Scenes from today's practice at the Chinese GP:
Results from Shanghai, Free Practice #2, Friday:
Code:
P. No Driver Team - Engine Tyres Times Ave/Gaps Laps
1. 35 DAVIDSON BAR Honda M 1'33"289 210.353 Km/h 22
2. 9 BUTTON BAR Honda M 1'34"174 + 0'00"885 19
3. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'34"289 + 0'01"000 16
4. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'34"362 + 0'01"073 15
5. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'34"448 + 0'01"159 21
6. 11 FISICHELLA Sauber Petronas B 1'34"680 + 0'01"391 23
7. 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'34"714 + 0'01"425 23
8. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'34"776 + 0'01"487 25
9. 16 ZONTA Toyota M 1'34"868 + 0'01"579 23
10. 17 PANIS Toyota M 1'34"870 + 0'01"581 25
11. 38 BRISCOE Toyota M 1'34"881 + 0'01"592 29
12. 12 MASSA Sauber Petronas B 1'34"959 + 0'01"670 23
13. 8 ALONSO Renault M 1'35"514 + 0'02"225 27
14. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'35"646 + 0'02"357 22
15. 7 VILLENEUVE Renault M 1'35"851 + 0'02"562 25
16. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'35"886 + 0'02"597 22
17. 37 WIRDHEIM Jaguar Cosworth M 1'36"363 + 0'03"074 19
18. 18 HEIDFELD Jordan Ford B 1'36"630 + 0'03"341 19
19. 21 BAUMGARTNER Minardi Cosworth B 1'37"076 + 0'03"787 15
20. 15 KLIEN Jaguar Cosworth M 1'37"111 + 0'03"822 25
21. 20 BRUNI Minardi Cosworth B 1'37"431 + 0'04"142 19
22. 19 GLOCK Jordan Ford B 1'37"728 + 0'04"439 15
23. 40 LEINDERS Minardi Cosworth B 1'38"522 + 0'05"233 18
24. 39 DOORNBOS Jordan Ford B 1'39"051 + 0'05"762 15
Villeneuve .3 sec behind his teammate, looking good. The fact that a non-runner like Davidson set the pace tells me that, barring rain, the times should come down drastically in Qualifying tomorrow.
Some JV comments from today, interesting how he mentions that he's been training since March - he must have known about this for a long time...:
Quote:
Jacques, what is the difference between driving the last race with the generation 03 car and being here with the Renault of 04. Is there a big difference?
JV: This is a beginning instead of an end, so that is already a lot more positive. I had been in a situation where it was a long tunnel and you didn’t see the light and it just seemed to get worse every day. There were a lot of other things going on that made it difficult, driving wasn’t the hard part it was everything else around it. Right now it’s like being in the first race in 1996.
(Jacques Schulz) Considering we have a situation that there are three cars for each team next year, now you are contracted to Sauber when you could have four or five different opportunities. Was it a wrong choice?
JV: It would purely depend on the budget and who the third driver would be.
(Luc Domenjoz – Le Matin) Driving a Sauber car that will probably not be able to win a Grand Prix, where you will find the motivation?
JV: I drove for five years in a bad situation and the motivation was there. I am sure that next year will be a very positive atmosphere and that is what will make the difference. Just see the step that BAR made this year, anything is possible. You never know what will happen. But I am not even thinking about next year right now, there is enough work to do in the next month. But I am happy about next year.
(Jacques Deschenaux) Jacques, what was your feeling to see BAR improving this year?
JV: It depends who I was thinking about. I was very happy to see Jenson doing well, I was happy for the guys who had been there for a long time, and a lot of the work we had done over the last five years and finally it was producing results and there was pride in that. Of course, there is also a little part of me that would be a little bit unhappy that it was someone else getting the points.
(Jacques Deschenaux) What was the reason for this extremely high improvement?
JV: It takes everything, you need the car, the engine, the tyres, the drivers, the team, and after the season Jenson did last year he was very comfortable this year and he could be aggressive from the start of the season and it all worked well.
(James Allen) Jacques, what was the overriding emotion for you, sitting outside Formula One for such a long time, leaving aside the whole BAR element, just not being in Formula One. And did you believe that you would get back here and you would work again in Formula One?
JV: What was great was I could watch a race from start to finish and not because my car had broken down! That was quite good! Did I think I could come back? Yeah, because I started training since March and when you train and don’t have a drive there is a big pain, so somewhere you have got to believe you are coming back.
(Dan Knutson – National Speed Sports News) Jacques, obviously you are looking forward to racing in all the races next year, but just from the North American perspective, you have a large amount of fans back in Montreal and Indianapolis. Are you looking forward to racing again in the US and Canadian Grands Prix next year in front of all those fans?
JV: It will be great. It is so far away right now, but there is always great memories of Indianapolis and Montreal is my home race.
(Luc Domenjoz) Now you are back, do you think you will be back for many years and will you use Sauber as a springboard to another team?
JV: I have never used one team against another. Some people say I signed too early and I could have raised my value by waiting but that it is not something I wanted to do, it’s not the right way to work, so that is not my thought process right now.
(Jacques Deschenaux - TSR) Jacques, when the deal between yourself and Renault was revealed it was almost the same time as the one with Sauber. What was the reaction of Peter Sauber when he was informed?
JV: He was aware of everything going on and he agreed to it. If not, I would not have done it.
Jacques, you tested at Silverstone, but tell us how your first day back in action in competition went?
JV: It feels like being back home. Good. The team is working well. They all made it very easy for me to come back and work, they made me comfortable, and it is a team with no pressure, no stress, and we can just get down to working. This morning was mainly getting used to layout, where the limit of the car is and covering the track at the same time so there was a lot to do and it seems to be going well.
You are quite close to Alonso, does that please you?
JV: Yeah, it is always good to be close to your team-mate, so that’s good. It took a while to get there, though, but I can use the benchmark from my team-mate and work from that.
Physically, how are you feeling? Things like your neck, you can’t really train for those sorts of g-forces can you?
JV: I have been training hard since March and it seems to be okay. We did 45 laps today, which is almost a race, and there is no problem.
FROM ALONSO, ON VILLENEUVE
(Andrea Cremonesi) And Fernando, how do you judge the performance of your new teammate today?
FA: I think Jacques did a good job today. The timed lap is very close to what I did today, so it means he could go well in the car. It should be difficult for him, it is only his second time in the car and even without that he’s performing well, so I am sure tomorrow he will do a good job and hopefully both Renaults are in the top of the cut.
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Last edited by powerclown; 09-24-2004 at 08:51 AM..
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