NewsOnF1 - 12 April News

12-Apr: At the Friday press conference for the San Marino Grand Prix, Eddie Irvine indicated that he is still unhappy with the R3 and they have yet to figure out the problem with it!. He said "I am not happy with the R3. At this moment in time, we know the R2 is the quicker car but potentially it is not. We did the test, we've proved what we needed to prove. We have seen quite clearly the R3 has more potential but there is a problem and we are trying to figure out what the problem is. We know the symptoms but we don't know what the disease is at the minute. That is what we have to figure out.
We were pretty confident we knew what it was after the last race. Everything stacked up. We tested two quite major changes and it didn't impact the problem whatsoever. So that has obviously suggested that is not where the problem lies so we are testing something else at Silverstone and it might be the answer, it might not. We are really a little bit lost to be honest because we changed so much from last year."

Mika Salo admitted that the Toyota is not good in wet weather conditions due to a lack of testing and hence he hopes for dry weather on Saturday and Sunday and said "We knew we would struggle if it is raining. We haven't had a good rain test or the car has never been quick when it is wet. We will try to work on it for tomorrow to make it better and I am sure we can make it a little bit better but I don't think we can find five seconds in it.
We need to improve a lot because there are a lot of guys around us who will improve and there are some who want to catch up and they will improve so we will fall quite far behind if we don't work hard now."

Olivier Panis expressed his disappointment at the performance of the BAR in both aerodynamics and power but is hopeful of the upcoming improvements and said "The car is not the car we had expected during the winter and for the first Grand Prix, but we know the problem we have now, we need to agree hard and I know David is behind me but I am quite positive about him, he has managed the team quite well, made many changes, very positive and Geoff Willis has worked now for one month and I think he knows what has happened really, and we need to wait for the improvement of the car, I think, for Canada.
We have not very good aerodynamics at this time and the engine is not the best engine for this moment but everybody is working hard.

Giancarlo Minardi indicated that he is working well within the new Minardi organisation under Paul Stoddart and said "We've changed the organisation. Paul Stoddart is now the president and it's clear that there are two different ways of operating but we are very optimistic, we are confident that we can continue in this good direction.
The team is a team, so the responsibilities are not split in two. We are working very well together, and we are looking forward to improving our co-operation together. In Italy, we design and build the cars. In England we have all the research and development departments and we are also expecting the new wind tunnel to be ready soon."

Jean Todt indicated that having 2 F2002 cars should make them more competitive and said "It changes things more for Rubens because obviously he is very happy to drive a F2002 car and it is probably easier for the mechanics because we don't have different toolings and we have better unification of what we need for the Grand Prix. We should have two cars performing quite well. It should multiply the F2002's competitiveness by two."
With regard to the Manufacturers' meeting regarding the rival series scheduled on Saturday, he said "It is not up to me to speak about that, because you know that the manufacturers are represented by the managing directors of all the motor car groups and Paolo Cantarella will be here attending the meeting tomorrow with Luca di Montezemolo on behalf of the Fiat Group. Saying that, it's an on-going project, due to happen, if it happens, in 2008 so it's still a long time before something will happen and the Kirch situation may accelerate the process in one way or another but I think it's difficult to say more."

David Richards has indicated that he doesn't foresee and further changes at BAR and said "I've always said that I needed three months to really understand what we've got inside the team, how to organise the team appropriately. I made those decisions a few weeks ago and implemented them about two or three weeks back now, just prior to Brazil. We've changed the design team, changed the number of people at the top of the company, we've slimmed down the organisation. There was duplication of functions and we've tried to build a clearer structure in which the team and the people concerned understand their roles and responsibilities. There is no great magic about it and it's certainly not going to have any overnight results. It's building for the future."
He hopes that the Manufacturers and Formula 1 can reach a sensible agreement rather than face a split and a rival series and said "The situation (Kirch going into receivership) may accelerate some of the discussions and come to a sensible solution sooner rather than later and hopefully one that brings everybody together rather than separating them in two different directions."

12-Apr: What the teams and drivers said following Friday Practice at Imola ... Report

12-Apr: San Marino GP – 2nd Friday Practice Session: Michael Schumacher sets the fastest time of the session ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello and Giancarlo Fisichella. David Coulthard, Kimi Raikkonen and Heinz Harald Frentzen make the top 6 ... Timed Results ... Report ... Notes

12-Apr: San Marino GP – 1st Friday Practice Session: Michael Schumacher sets the fastest time ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella and Rubens Barrichello. Raikkonen Frentzen and Trulli make the top 6 ... Timed Results ... Report ... Notes

San Marino Formula 1 Grand Prix Schedule:

Session	Time (Local / GMT) - Current local time
Friday Practice Session 1 Friday Practice Session 2 Saturday Practice Session 1 Saturday Practice Session 2 Qualifying Session Warm-up Session Race	11 AM Imola Time / 9 AM GMT 1 PM Imola Time / 11 AM GMT 9 AM Imola Time / 7 AM GMT 10:15 AM Imola Time / 8:15 AM GMT 1 PM Imola Time / 11 AM GMT 9:30 AM Imola Time / 7:30 AM GMT 2 PM Imola Time / 12 PM GMT
Go to the San Marino GP Page