May 10 - 12, 2002

Race Notes

More bad luck for BAR in Austria

Jacques Villeneuve was again unlucky not to pick up points after driving a storming race from 17th on the grid in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.

The former A1-Ring winner had suffered problems in qualifying which has stopped from finding an ideal set-up. But JV found the car to be much quicker in the race as he went for a daring two-stop strategy.
He stopped out on the track on the last lap with an engine problem after he had caught up with the battle for fifth place. But his charging drive had been spoilt earlier on when he was hit with a drive-through penalty following an incident with his former team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

"The car was quick in the race, except towards the end when I had the first signs of a problem," said JV. "We took the decision to run a two-stop strategy because of where I was on the grid and that was really working out for me for the first half of the race.

"I was able to pass a lot of people and took advantage of the first safety car to come in for my first pitstop. What really cost us today was the penalty. The second safety car stayed out for quite a long time but it was too early in our strategy to make my second pitstop."
JV enjoyed his fight with the likes of Jenson Button and David Coulthard. He added: "It's been a better race for me than the rest of the weekend though. I'd forgotten what racing is like and today was a little reminder."

It was a less positive experience for Olivier Panis who was unable to capitalise on his ninth place grid slot.

"My start was very good but I lost places because I was heavy on fuel," said Olivier. "I still felt quite confident though because, as we now know, one-stopping would have been the right strategy. On the 3rd lap I felt something happen with the car; it suddenly felt a little strange.

I kept pushing but in the end the engine blew as I was coming down the straight to start my 23rd lap. Sure, I'm a little disappointed, but we have to keep pushing and stay focused now. I really feel that I got the best out of the car here this weekend.

"We made good progress with the set-up and I qualified well so it's just a question of making it through the race with no problems now. We are still going forward and I'm sure that my luck will change soon. I'm ready for Monaco!"

BAR

Race Results

Warm-Up Times

Qualifying Notes

Jacques Villeneuve
"I've struggled to find the right set-up all weekend and for one reason or another we haven't been able to make enough progress. We had some improvement in practice this morning but I went into qualifying with a car I wasn't comfortable with. I decided to run on new tyres for the session and everybody else seemed to be better off on used tyres. The laps weren't very clean so clearly the tyre choice was a mistake. Once again, we'll be relying on the car being better off in the race."

Olivier Panis
"I'm really happy to qualify 9th today; it's great news for the team. I've been pushing hard all weekend and we've made good progress through each of the sessions. I almost completed a race distance yesterday and worked through various options to get the car to where it needed to be. There's a chance I could have bettered that in my final run but Bernoldi was slowing on his in-lap and blocked me. Even so, I'm very pleased with what we have.

"We've put a lot into testing recently and that has helped me to get a good set-up for the last two Grands Prix. Last week's test in Estoril was very positive and I have been able to build on that progress here. I'm optimistic about tomorrow's race and ready to push for some points."

David Richards, Team Principal
"Olivier's 9th position was as good as we could have expected in qualifying and it's disappointing that we weren't able to get the same out of the car for Jacques.

"This race has however produced a few surprise results from lowly grid positions in the past so there is all to play for tomorrow and hopefully our first points into the bargain."

Saturday Practice Times

Friday Practice Notes

Jacques Villeneuve
"Obviously 21st is not where I should be today but I didn't get enough running to improve the set-up. I struggled with a lack of grip this morning so we changed a few things during the break which took a little longer than expected. I was late out for the second session and lost a lot of running time, so we have no idea where we are overall. Olivier had a better day and seems to have found a good set-up. I haven't had enough time to improve the set-up so we have a lot of work to do to find what we need for qualifying."

Olivier Panis
"It may look like I'm pay-per-lap, which of course is not true! 66 laps is a great day's running and very positive for the team. I wanted to explore as many different options as possible and this obviously helped me to finish 8th today with a race set-up I'm very comfortable with so far. Bridgestone have provided a good tyre for this race so we're in a good position to start working towards qualifying now."

David Richards, Team Principal
"We've made a positive start to the weekend and I'm pleased that Olivier has had such a good day. However, we still have a lot of work to do to put Jacques where he should be. We now need to make good progress in practice tomorrow to ensure we are in the best possible shape for qualifying."

JV's Lap of the A1-Ring

"The A1-Ring is an easy track to learn. You turn right three times, left twice, then right and right again, and you've finished your lap. After two laps you know exactly where you are. The rhythm of the circuit is good though because you have a corner followed by a straight, then another corner followed by a straight.

"The first two corners feel as if they've just cut the straight and put a bend in it! They're very harsh. Castrol Kurve, the first corner, is taken in second gear under heavy braking. On exit, you accelerate up to sixth gear and then brake hard again for the Remus Kurve. In fact, you have to brake heavily almost everywhere around the A1-Ring.

"Remus is a very slow hairpin; you take it almost as slow as you can go. However the next turn, Gosser Kurve, is interesting. You brake while descending down the hill and then start your turn-in. It's not a very fast corner but it's hard to get right.

"Then you accelerate away for the two downhill left-handers, Niki Lauda Kurve and Power Horse Kurve. You don't see where the apex of the corner is for the first and because of the downforce we run, you pull quite a lot of Gs through here. They're both pretty straightforward third gear corners though.

"Then it's up to top gear again, accelerating to the very fast turn 7, which is nothing more than a kink. You then drop down the hill for the final two corners which are really strange. As you turn in to Jochen Rindt Kurve, the track falls away. However, on the apex of the corner the track levels out again. The car goes from feeling very light to very heavy in just a second. But this makes these final turns interesting.

"Generally the A1-Ring is good for racing because you have a lot of straights followed by some heavy braking areas. But if I have one criticism it would be that the straights aren't really long enough.

"From a driver's perspective, this is not a particularly demanding circuit to learn or to drive. Set-up around this circuit is constant too - usually you'll have a compromised set-up that works well in certain areas of the track but not in others. You don't really have that problem here. However, because the track is quite short, traffic can be an issue."

BAR Race Preview

Team Principal David Richards described a feeling of "déjà vu" after the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago. As in Imola, Jacques Villeneuve's 7th place finish was scant reward for a hard-fought race and a committed team performance. A points finish continues to prove elusive for Lucky Strike B.A.R. Honda but Olivier Panis would happily settle for a 'finish' right now after enduring his 5th DNF in as many races because of technical problems.

It was a weekend of highs and lows for the team; a positive start in free practice, a disappointing qualifying session on Saturday with a competitive race trim finally emerging in Sunday's warm-up. The drivers carried real momentum into the race and both looked capable of securing the team's first points of the season. Shades of a balance deficiency on Jacques' car remained with him throughout while Olivier's performance spoke volumes about his determination to finish this race. A gutsy drive was cemented by one of the team's now celebrated pitstops, delivering him back on track ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Unfortunately his exhaust failed after 43 laps while he was in contention for a possible 5th place finish.

Disappointment aside, the team were encouraged by a further step forward with the engine and have been working hard with Honda in testing to consolidate that progress for Austria. A three-day programme took Jacques, Olivier and test driver Anthony Davidson to Estoril last week for the team's first full test at the Portuguese circuit. The main focus there was general set-up work in readiness for the demands of the A1-Ring, coupled with further engine development and tyre work.

The three drivers each completed two days of testing, Olivier posting a new unofficial lap record of 1:17.090. Heavy rainfall on the last day also gave the team and Bridgestone the opportunity to run some wet weather tyre testing to prepare for any eventuality in the unpredictable Styrian Alps.

Looking ahead to the Austrian Grand Prix, the team expect to be slightly better off than in Spain but admit there is still much work to be done. Reliability is improving with every race so the main priority will be to get both drivers to the chequered flag, taking advantage of every possible opportunity along the way.

Jacques Villeneuve on the Austrian Grand Prix
"The A1-Ring is a fun track to drive on; I quite enjoy racing there. It's not a very exciting track for qualifying because there are no real high-speed corners, but it's a great circuit for racing.

"The layout of the track is really good and it has a nice rhythm. There are plenty of overtaking opportunities which always make for exciting racing. Overall, it is very enjoyable.

"Our car should be more suited to this track as well. We still have a lot of work to do before we can become more competitive but hopefully we are in a position to get some points."

Olivier Panis on the Austrian Grand Prix
"We missed a big opportunity in Barcelona. For the first time this season I felt very comfortable with the car there and that was certainly reflected in my times throughout the weekend. I really felt that I would finish the race and it also looked possible for me to score a point along the way.

"To be honest, the disappointment of the last few races has made me more determined. We are working much better as a team and the improvements are coming.

"The A1-Ring is a track I enjoy and I finished 5th here last year. It's quite tough on the driver though because of the big G-forces in the corners. Getting the right balance is also tricky but we made real progress with that in Spain and in testing so I'm looking forward to the race and feeling positive."

David Richards, Team Principal
"We have come very close to a points finish in the last couple of races but we have not been in a strong enough position to capitalise on every opportunity.

"Having said that, I am very pleased with the improvement in our overall performance and I have only praise for the team and our partners. We still have a great deal of work ahead of us but together we are starting to make real progress."

The Circuit

Race Distance - 71 Laps. 190.848 miles (307.146km)
Circuit Length - 2.688 miles (4.326km)

The Austrian Grand Prix reappeared in 1997 after an absence of a decade and is held at the A1-Ring, an updated version of the much-admired, ultra-fast Österreichring. The current track, situated near Spielberg in the scenic Styrian Alps, possesses a number of slow and medium-speed corners, bordered by large gravel run-off areas. However, it is still the fourth fastest circuit on the current GP calendar and has produced its fair share of drama over the last five years - the start of the race is usually high on chaos as the cars funnel through the first turn, Castrol Kurve.

Race engineers grade the A1-Ring a medium downforce track. The layout of the circuit means that the cars constantly brake from high speeds into the corners and accelerate hard on exit, making the A-1 Ring notoriously heavy on fuel and tough on brakes. Additionally, driver fitness is tested to the limit by the two 4G corners at the lap end. Finally, chassis balance at the A1-Ring is key and known to be more dependent on track temperature and other ambient conditions than at other circuits, while slightly thinner air in the Alps means engines are likely to require a "mapping" adjustment.