September 13 - 15, 2002

Race Notes

Olivier Panis clinched a richly-deserved championship point with a superbly aggressive drive to sixth in the Italian Grand Prix.

Olivier, who had started 16th, opted for a two-stop strategy and carved his way through the field for his second points finish of the year.

It is the third year running that B.A.R have scored points at Monza.

Olivier said: "I'm absolutely delighted to finish sixth today. To get a point after starting 16th on the grid is fantastic for us. It was a tough race with plenty of action but I took the risk of a two-stop strategy and it worked for me.

"I spoke with the team ahead of the race and said that I wanted to be able to attack and be part of the race. I got an amazing start and gained 7 places so I knew then I had the potential for a great result.

"I had a lot of fun out there today and was able to make the most of the overtaking opportunities. The pit stops worked well for us with the mechanics doing their usual fantastic job to make sure we got out ahead of Fisichella.

"I'm really pleased for the team. Every point counts and it is a very important result for us at this stage of the season. I'm really looking forward to Indianapolis now. Honda will have more of the latest specification engine and, as we've seen, it looks very promising in terms of performance and reliability for the last two races."

Jacques Villeneuve, who was on a more conventional one-stop strategy, finished ninth. The 1997 world champion struggled for grip but finished just 12s off the points.

He said: "This was a very disappointing race for me after such a good qualifying session yesterday. I didn't get a good start and I was stuck in the wrong part of the track with cars everywhere and lost places as a result.

"It was a tough call on strategy today and compared with most other times here we decided to try one stop. In the end, we were running too much wing and I couldn't get a good tow behind anyone down the straights.

"Congratulations to Olivier; he made the two-stop strategy work and got a well-deserved point out of it for the team."

Team principal David Richards was delighted by the team's performance - and that of Olivier in particular.

He said: "A fantastic performance from Olivier today from 16th on the grid. He got a much better start than of late and maximised that advantage throughout the race to bring a hard-fought and much-welcomed point to the team. Jacques, on the other hand, found himself struggling for grip on a heavy fuel load so the one-stop strategy really didn't work in his favour today.

"This weekend has seen a further small but significant step forward for the team. All four Honda-powered cars finished the race and this, together with the improvement we've seen in terms of power and reliability, gives us great encouragement for the remaining two races."

BAR

Race Results

Warm-Up Times

Qualifying Notes

Jacques Villeneuve
"After Ferrari, we are ahead of the other Bridgestone runners by a good margin so we're quite happy, considering the fact that we didn't get a good lap. I'm a little frustrated because we could have been 7th. There was a good three tenths left in the car but I made mistakes on the second run braking into Ascari and the last corner. Monza is a track where you think you can go faster but the moment you try, it's very easy to make a mistake because we're running such low downforce. The tyre was taking longer to 'come-in' so we did two timed laps on the second run and the better lap was the second of the two. That gives you one less run and less chances but it worked in our favour today. The engine seems to be more reliable so hopefully we can have a good race tomorrow but we need to improve our start to make sure we don't lose out into the first corner. Hopefully it will be possible to get a point tomorrow."

Olivier Panis
"Congratulations to Jacques for maximising the set-up of the car and the only latest specification engine that was available to the team this weekend. It is positive news for us looking ahead to the next two races as it looks like the performance advantage is very large. On the other hand, I would like to thank my team for doing the best job possible with the equipment they had available."

David Richards, Team Principal
"An excellent performance from Jacques utilising the latest specification Honda engine to full advantage. Our race performance this season has usually been stronger than in qualifying and I'm therefore confident that Jacques should be able to put up a strong challenge for points tomorrow. It's disappointing for Olivier to start so far down the grid but the traffic did not fall in his favour on a couple of occasions. Hopefully he'll have better luck in the race."

* Kimi Raikkonen was penalized after the end of yesterday's qualifying hour for his role in the collision with Jordan driver Takuma Sato that saw the session red-flagged two minutes from the end. The McLaren driver lost his fastest lap as a consequence and will start this afternoon's race from sixth on the grid instead of fifth. This move sees Eddie Irvine move up a place, taking the Finn's previous position.

Saturday Practice Times

Friday Practice Notes

Jacques Villeneuve
"We made some progress during the two sessions but we're not as competitive as we should be. Plus, we had a hydraulic leak and I lost time at the end of the morning session. Monza is a great track but we carry so little downforce here that it's hard to get the set-up right - tyre choice is always difficult because you're trying to find more grip without blistering the tyres. We got some good runs in though and tried some different things and in the end we managed to get the car quite well-balanced once we'd put some laps on the tyres. Obviously we have some work to do yet so we'll try to do what we can to improve the car for the race."

Olivier Panis
"It's difficult to judge where we stand after today. We have addressed some minor problems on the first session but now we have to work more on the set-up."

David Richards, Team Principal
"As always, it's difficult to read too much into a Friday. We've had a reasonably productive first day's running but we have some way to go yet to maximise performance from the overall package. We've had a couple of minor mechanical problems which the team were on top of very quickly so let's hope we can now look forward to a reliable weekend."

JV's Lap of Monza

"Monza is the only low downforce track that we have left, which means a lot of straight lines and very few corners. The main straight is long and fast into Rettifilo, a very slow chicane, taken in 1st gear. You're doing about 355kph and you have to slow down to about 80 kph for it, so it's hard on the brakes but very good for racing. The only problem is that it's too easy to cross the chicane and last year a lot of people crossed it while they were overtaking but were not getting penalties.

"There's heavy acceleration out of that chicane and into Curva Grande, another quick straight. It's a little bit slower and not as long but quick enough. Then it's into another heavy braking chicane, the Variante della Roggia. You have some overtaking opportunities here but it's a more difficult corner to do because you actually carry a lot of speed into the chicane and if you have the inside line you can't take the corner anymore. It's more difficult to overtake here than at the first corner because of that.

"Then you get into a fun corner, the first Lesmo. It's banked and taken in 3rd or 4th gear, mid- speed, or mid-speed for Monza, which is still 160/170 kph. It's just a small tap on the brakes as you turn in. There are a few bumps and because of the banking the front of the car ends up gripping a lot earlier. Because of the low downforce the rear is often very light.

"Then you get to Lesmo 2 which used to be a flat out, beautiful corner, but has been destroyed into a 3rd gear, ugly corner. It doesn't have a nice layout, it doesn't have a nice rhythm and it doesn't make sense! You hit the brakes, you turn and you just hit the apex, and then you come out of the corner sliding a bit. It's not fun. Every time you go there you're annoyed basically!

"The Serralio straight follows with heavy braking for the Curva del Vialone and Ascari chicane, which is actually a fun one. It's a mid speed, third gear chicane at 130/140 kph. You can carry a lot of speed in but it will have a big effect on your turn. Some people will carry a little less speed and then have a better second part of the corner. It depends on how your car handles once you lay the power on. Often you end up almost running out of road but suddenly just making it. That's when you've done it the best: When you can carry too much speed into it and still take the corner. This is because the second part of the corner - the right-hander - is actually a little bit faster and if you can keep the car without sliding too much then you'll be able to do the last bit of the corner without lifting. When your car's not set up well you end up in the middle part of the track, and then you cannot do the third part of the corner without lifting.

"After this it's into yet another long straight. It's high speed into the difficult but fun corner, Parabolica. It's a corner that's very tight on the entrance and then widens for the exit, but the exit is very long. There are a lot of lines to take here. It's also the kind of corner where overtaking happens because you have so many lines into it. You can brake on the inside or brake too late. You won't make a good corner if you do that but you'll still make it around the track. That's what allows you to go deeper in and try something a little bit crazy. But normally if you overtake someone there, he'll overtake you into the hairpin, after the next straight, which is also the start/ finish."

BAR Race Preview

Lucky Strike B.A.R Honda return to Monza in Italy this week for Round 15 of the FIA Formula One World Championship. Widely regarded as the last of the great high-speed circuits, the Autodromo Nazionale nestles in a picturesque royal park close to Milan. It has witnessed some of the sport's greatest moments and worst tragedies and is known to the Tifosi as "La Pista Magica", the magical race track. Motor racing fans in their thousands make the annual pilgrimage to the circuit that has been the home of Italian racing for 80 years.

Due to the high speeds reached at this circuit and the enforced ban on testing prior to this race, the normal testing regulations, which stipulate that the teams cannot test at a Grand Prix circuit within 28 days of the race, are lifted for reasons of safety.

B.A.R took this opportunity to mount an intensive four-day test (3-6 September) at the circuit in order to prepare for the Grand Prix. As this was the first test since the expiry of the 7-week ban, the team worked through a very comprehensive programme featuring two cars and four drivers - Jacques Villeneuve, Olivier Panis, Anthony Davidson and Patrick Lemarie.

Back with the team following his two-race secondment to Minardi, Anthony Davidson kicked off the test on Wednesday along with Patrick Lemarie, after which Jacques and Olivier arrived for their two days of running. The main elements of the test were a Bridgestone tyre programme and an exploration of the aero updates for the forthcoming race, coupled with some electronic development work and testing the latest Honda engine.

Jacques on the Italian Grand Prix
"Monza is the only high-speed track that we have left, which means a lot of straight lines, very few corners and very low downforce. It's a real racer's circuit and, although I've had mixed fortunes here, I always enjoy coming back. There's such a great atmosphere.

"There are some fun parts of the track which I really enjoy, such as the first Lesmo which is banked and taken in 3rd or 4th gear at mid-speed - or mid-speed for Monza which is still 160/170kmh. It's quite bumpy and the rear feels really light. On the other hand I don't like the second Lesmo at all. It used to be a flat-out, beautiful corner until they changed it. It doesn't have good rhythm now; you hit the brakes, you turn and you just hit the apex, then come out of the corner sliding a bit.

"Monza is a real power circuit so it will really test the package but I hope we can stay reliable and make the most of the overtaking opportunities."

Olivier Panis on the Italian Grand Prix
"Monza is a very fast circuit but it isn't particularly difficult from a driver's point of view because there aren't that many corners. It is very important to find the right aerodynamic balance though. You need very low downforce to be fast in the straights and you need good mechanical grip for stable braking into the chicanes. This can mean that we see some good racing here. There are a number of places to overtake and two or three good corners for challenging in, like the Parabolica chicane and the two Lesmo corners.

"There is a good ambience both inside the paddock and out because of the fans. The Tifosi are great and they really create a good atmosphere. The Italians like Formula One and so even as a non-Ferrari driver it is good to be there."

David Richards, Team Principal
"We had a very constructive test in Monza last week and have been working hard with Honda to overcome any reliability concerns following Spa. This circuit is reasonably tough on the cars so it will provide another real test of our overall package. Tyres will undoubtedly play a major part in this weekend's story, as they did in Belgium, but we were encouraged to be the fastest Bridgestone runners after Ferrari there and hope to maintain that progress in Italy.

"This is the last of the European races this year and although we're expecting a tough challenge, our objective is still to make solid progress towards boosting our points tally before the end of the season."

The Circuit

Race Distance - 53 Laps. 190.614 miles (306.764 km)
Circuit Length - 3.600 miles (5.793 km)

Possessing a unique character and ambience, Monza is Formula One's oldest race track and, despite being altered from its original layout in the interests of safety, it is still the fastest.

The track has been rebuilt on several occasions but the basic design is much the same as it was.

Because of the pace of the circuit, cars must be set up with the lowest downforce levels possible without causing stability problems under braking. They must also be able to "ride" the Monza curbs effectively and remain well-balanced without too much understeer at high speed. In addition, good traction is important for exiting the revised Rettifilio and Roggia chicanes effectively and braking must be optimised to cope with the very high temperatures generated when drivers slow from top-speed to negotiate these low-speed sections.

With the exception of Curva Grande, overtaking is possible at every corner at Monza but the fast corners before each passing place make it hard to follow another car closely because of the vagaries of modern aerodynamics. Therefore overtaking manoeuvres tend to take place only when cars on two-stop strategies have a performance advantage over heavier one-stoppers.