March 7 - 9, 2003

Race Notes

Motor sport can be a fickle business. Lucky Strike B.A.R. Honda's pace was one of the paddock's main talking points during the first two days of the Australian Grand Prix, but an unpredictable set of circumstances denied Jacques Villeneuve and Jenson Button any chance of strong points finishes in the race.

Lining up sixth and eighth, Villeneuve and Button opted to start the race with wet tyres because persistent morning showers had soaked the Albert Park track. It was a close call, though, because the circuit was beginning to dry as the race began. Button made the better start to grab sixth place, just ahead of his team-mate, but in common with several rivals they were soon heading for the pits to change to dry rubber.

Although that dropped them down the order, both drivers remained in contention for strong finishes because the Safety car was sent out twice to slow the pace and allow officials to clear accident debris. When the race resumed in earnest Villeneuve and Button climbed in to the top five, although they were subsequently handicapped by a two-stop strategy that proved unsuitable for today's topsy-turvy race. Things were also compromised by a communications mix-up that lead to both cars pitting at the same time on lap 25, an incident that delayed Button in particular.

Jacques Villeneuve - 9th: 
"I had radio problems so it was very difficult to communicate with the pit wall and both cars ended up pitting at the same time. We went with what we knew about the tyres but we didn't expect the slicks to get to the halfway point. It took a long time to get the tyres working and I didn't get enough time on any set. Our strategy would have been good without the safety cars but things definitely didn't work out for us today."

Jenson Button - 10th: 
"It was very frustrating that we made the wrong tyre choice at the start and for my team-mate to come in on the wrong lap was disappointing and quite embarrassing really. The car worked very well in the practice sessions and qualifying so it was very disappointing to finish where we did today because we were very quick in the race."

David Richards, Team Principal: 
"It has been a very encouraging weekend in terms of our pace and reliability. Although we didn't get the results we hoped for, it has been a positive weekend because we know we have a competitive car and can look forward with confidence to a successful season. Credit must go to all the team, who worked long hours and performed admirably during the pitstops. Unfortunately, in hindsight, it looks like we called the wrong race strategy here and we will be reviewing that over the next few days. Our problems were compounded by the fact that Jacques seemed unable to hear his radio properly, which resulted in him pitting at the same time as Jenson. On the positive side we know we have a competitive car and we can look forward with confidence to a much more successful season."

Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director: 
"All the hard work that went into our testing paid dividends this weekend. At the first stop for tyres we were unsure whether the slicks would last long enough to enable us to take only one more pitstop. With the benefit of hindsight that turned out to be the wrong decision, which resulted in us failing to score points which were there for the taking. A disappointing end to the weekend but we'll bounce back in time for Malaysia."

Shuhei Nakamoto, Engineering Director, Honda Racing Development:
"Being so close to a points finish is really frustrating. Both Jacques and Jenson had to pit early on to change to dry tyres and ended up pitting three times, which meant we just lost out on points. But all in all I think we've shown that we have a fast car over the weekend so I'm encouraged for the rest of the season."

BAR

Race Results

Saturday Qualifying Notes

Jacques Villeneuve
"6th position is a good place to start the race. Our strategy is sound and very realistic so we're still looking good for tomorrow; we should be up there at the front for the battle. I'm just disappointed with my lap because it wasn't very special. After this morning's practice, reliability will be a bit of a worry but we can still fight for the podium so that's what we have to try and do."

Jenson Button
"It's difficult to know where we stand compared with everybody else but I'm pretty happy with 8th position. It's a good place to be starting the first race of the season. We weren't able to get many laps in during practice this morning but the car was working quite well then nonetheless. We had the 15-minute warm-up when the wind picked up and it felt like a completely different car to drive in qualifying; it felt very twitchy. It wasn't a great lap and like everyone else there was room for improvement. We're starting from a points-scoring position though so I'm still feeling confident for the race."

David Richards, Team Principal
"It has been a hard weekend for the team and we are satisfied with this performance. It's tough to predict what other teams will do tomorrow but we should be able to challenge for a top three finish."

Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director
"It has been very interesting. It's a little difficult to read what has gone on but we are reasonably pleased. We've achieved our target lap times and have a good race strategy. The rules do not allow us to touch the cars before the start so we hope all our hard preparation work pays off. From these grid positions we look in good shape for the race."

Saturday Practice Times

Friday Qualifying Notes

Jacques Villeneuve
"I'm really surprised with 3rd because we did hardly any running or set-up work this morning. I only completed two laps so I didn't know where to be on the race track, where to brake. I had to switch to the T-car and I thought that was it for the day; I thought we'd be qualifying 15th or something.

Obviously I know the track but when you haven't done any set-up work there are no reference points. At the beginning of the first two corners I wasn't as quick as I could have been. I guess it all depends on how you warm your tyres up and the tyres held up quite well so the last sector was good. It's been a long time since I was this far up the grid and although today wasn't final qualifying, it was easy to see who was quick and who wasn't. It won't be as easy to see that tomorrow with people running different fuel levels. The guys did a fantastic job and it's a good result for the team."

Jenson Button
"After this morning's practice I'm delighted with 5th and it's a great team result. The guys did a fantastic job. Today was the first running I've done in this car on low fuel so it's great to see that we're running up there with the quicker guys. I had a slow middle sector and then suffered with understeer in the final corner but generally the car felt great. I just wish these were our final qualifying positions! That would be nice."

David Richards, Team Principal
"This was just the start to the season that the team needed. After a difficult morning, everyone rallied round to get the cars ready for qualifying and both Jacques and Jenson did a superb job considering how little track time they had in which to set the cars up. We've proved how quick the car is now we have to translate this into a race performance."

Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director
"It was a fantastic qualifying session for both drivers. A very impressive performance from Jenson first of all, who was running a slightly lesser specification engine than Jacques, and obviously a fantastic lap from Jacques who had virtually no running at all this morning. We had a very difficult start to the day's running and 90 minutes before qualifying we had all three cars' engines and gearboxes apart! Jacques damaged his race chassis and we suffered two engine failures, so we had to switch to the T-car and change the engine on Jenson's car. The team did a great job to get both cars out on time and there were no hiccups at all in the qualifying session. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow morning to work out a race set-up but today is a great start."

Shuhei Nakamoto, Engineering Director, Honda Racing Development:
"All in all we've had a hell of a day! I am delighted that we've managed to get both cars into the top five. Both drivers did a great job with the pressure of the new single lap regulations on them, particularly as they hadn't had much time in the car this morning. The first session was massively disappointing but the team rallied round to change the engine on Jenson's car and prepare the spare car for Jacques. We've obviously had a look at the engines from the first session and it looks like the same problem occurred on both engines. We seem to have a bad batch of parts in the camshaft area so we will analyse further tonight to solve the problem."

Friday Practice Times

BAR Race Preview

Lucky Strike B*A*R Honda's 2003 Championship campaign begins in earnest next weekend at the curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. After an intensive winter testing programme, encompassing 35 car days and over 7,000kms of mileage, the team is looking forward to the B*A*R Honda 005's Grand Prix debut and what promises to be a challenging but very exciting season.

The Australian Grand Prix is one of the highlights of the 16-race series. The anticipation of finally seeing just how competitive the respective cars are in race condition is palpable through the weekend and this year's revised qualifying format will add a thrilling new dimension.

The Albert Park circuit is a firm favourite with most of the F1 drivers. The layout of this fast, flowing track is characterised by a series of slow and medium speed corners, incorporating two high-speed sectors. The cars run here with maximum downforce and, mechanically, the set-up needs to strike a balance between allowing good traction out of the slow sections while optimising balance in the mid-range corners. The high ambient temperatures experienced at this time of year also highlight cooling issues and brakes can be a significant factor. Under these high downforce conditions engine power becomes an important element in the car's ultimate performance.

Jacques Villeneuve has experienced mixed fortunes at this circuit. He drove in his first Grand Prix here in 1996, starting from pole and finishing second after a mechanical problem forced him to slow. It was at the Albert Park circuit back in 2000 where B*A*R secured its first World Championship points with Jacques finishing in 4th place. However, tragedy struck in 2001 when Jacques crashed after running into the back of Ralf Schumacher's Williams-BMW and a race marshal lost his life after he was hit by flying debris from the B*A*R car. 2002 proved frustrating for the team when both Jacques and his then teammate Olivier Panis became embroiled in the mayhem of a first corner incident triggered when Rubens Barrichello was hit by Ralf Schumacher. While Olivier was forced to retire, Jacques emerged unscathed until a rear wing failure ended his race after 27 laps.

The Formula One circus laps up the party atmosphere of this cosmopolitan Victorian capital and it is certainly a popular venue for both B*A*R drivers.

Jacques Villeneuve 
"The race in Australia is good fun. The track is great; it's a long lap with a series of straights and heavy braking and I really enjoy racing there. It should be even more exciting this year with all the new rule changes. One-lap qualifying is going to be fantastic. It will be interesting to see what happens over the race weekend in Melbourne. I'm looking forward to it as this will be our chance to find out how competitive we are."

"Winter testing has been tough and we've experienced a number of problems with reliability. We've yet to complete a race distance which is slightly worrying going into the first race. Having said that, the car has proved to be fast and quite easy to drive so it looks like we could be competitive. If we can finish the race I believe we should be in a points-scoring position. "

Jenson Button
"The first race of the season is always exciting. This is also my first race with B*A*R so there's an even greater sense of anticipation. I can't wait to get into the car on Friday."

"We've had an intensive test schedule since we launched the car and we've had to work hard to overcome our reliability issues. I think we have every reason to feel positive about the first race and the season generally."

"Melbourne is such a great place to start the calendar; everyone is really friendly and Albert Park is a fantastic location for a Grand Prix. The circuit is great fun; there are lots of chicanes and straights but not many quick corners. For me, the first corner, Fangio, is pretty exciting. You come haring down the straight into a 3rd gear corner where you use all of the kerb before going through into Brabham. It's fantastic, especially on the first lap of the race."

"The new qualifying format should be pretty exciting for the fans and the teams. We are effectively rolling four qualifying laps into one and there will be a lot of pressure on everybody, especially the engineers and the mechanics, to get the car out on time. I'm looking forward to it; it should be good fun."

David Richards, Team Principal
"There is no doubt that 2003 is going to be an extraordinarily challenging year for us as we strive to make a major leap forward. I firmly believe that in the B*A*R Honda 005 we have a car that will regularly qualify in the top ten and, in turn, translate that into regular points and podium finishes."

"We completed our winter test programme in Imola last week where, after a number of reliability concerns in previous weeks, we finally started to see things come together in full Melbourne spec. All the fundamental elements are there; we have good inherent speed and Honda have made progress with the new engine. Our primary concern will be a recurrence of recent reliability issues so, first and foremost, we'll be looking to get both cars home then hoping to pick up points along the way."

"Melbourne is certain to be an exciting weekend for everyone involved in Formula One, not least the fans. Like everyone else, we're looking forward to seeing just how well everyone adapts to the new qualifying format and what surprises it throws up along the way."

Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director
"The Australian Grand Prix sees the culmination of four hard months of car design, build and manufacture, coupled with two months of fairly intensive testing. We know we have a good car in the B*A*R Honda 005 and it's up to us to prove that in Melbourne next weekend. Winter testing has not been without its problems, most of them concerned with reliability. As a result, we fell short of our targeted 10,000kms of testing mileage but we have worked hard to iron out most of our issues. We ran in full Melbourne spec in Imola last week where our final pre-season test was very positive."

"It's difficult to predict where we will be at the first race. Clearly, a great deal depends on the relative performance of the Bridgestone and Michelin rubber. Compared with other Bridgestone runners we feel we are in a very strong position under race conditions but we have yet to find out where we are in qualifying conditions. The new regulations have certainly opened up a new range of strategies and it will be very interesting to see how things pan out. Generally, we're feeling positive and looking forward to the race."