○2004年開幕戦オーストラリアGP



プレビュー
"I am visiting Japan on the way to Australia and will be training hard before the first race. I have raced at Melbourne once before - it was my debut race - but I had a technical problem in qualifying. It was a great place to do my first Grand Prix though and is the perfect race to start the season with. We have been working very hard over the winter and have achieved some good testing results and so I am really looking forward to racing the new car for the first time. So many things can happen in Melbourne, and everyone has a chance. Hopefully we will be strong straight away - I am certainly confident and optimistic. Looking at the testing results and progress we have made I am sure we are in a much better position than before, and I am really excited about the first race of the new season."

プラクティスレポート
"It's great to be back competing in a Grand Prix again but it is quite a challenge to adapt to the new format. I've had very little track time so it is difficult to choose the right tyre in such a short space of time. We're working very well together as a team though and it is encouraging that all three drivers seem to be following the same direction. I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of the weekend shapes up now."

クォリファイレポート
"I'm very pleased with my lap - the best I've had this weekend. It was a little bit difficult this morning because we had a mechanical problem with the gearbox, so I lost quite a bit of track time. We made a set-up change prior to the first qualifying run and the car didn't feel too good, but we switched back to the practice set-up and I just felt very comfortable for the second session. I'm really looking forward to the race tomorrow now."

レースレポート
"It was quite a busy race. The start was good but then I was squeezed into the first corner and made contact with the Renault, damaging my nosecone. The team asked me if there was any problem but as it was the first lap and I had no reference for commenting on the car balance. At the first pitstop though, we found some damage to the nose and we changed it at the second stop. Immediately the car felt much better and I was able to consistently lap a second quicker than in the first stint, so it had clearly upset the car. The car felt good throughout the second and third stints but then after the third stop, the gurney started to lift from the rear wing and it was flapping around for the last few laps, upsetting the airflow quite a bit. I'm a little bit disappointed with ninth to be honest, but I'm pleased we got both cars to the finish in the first race. The reliability of all the teams has been quite surprising but everyone has done a lot of work in testing over the winter. Generally, a good start to the year for the team but I'm sure we can do better in Malaysia."


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