31 Jan: The
BMW Williams F1 team launched their 2003 contender the FW25 today with the
aim of improving on their second place in the championship of last season. The
FW25 isn't an evolution of its predecessor but rather a brand new chassis. Team Principal Frank Williams said "We are well prepared and
completely determined to get to the top. We have a new, innovative chassis as
a product of a completely different way of thinking. And with the P83, BMW has
developed another new and more powerful engine. With Juan Pablo Montoya and
Ralf Schumacher we have two winning drivers ably assisted by a skilled and
committed team. Moreover, we have been very impressed by the performance steps
taken by Michelin over the winter." Technical Director Patrick Head said "The chassis derives little
from previous cars. The approach has relied less on iteration, and instead has
called for the generation of new ideas. 2002 showed us that our chassis was a
model of reliability, but that there’s still room for improvement
particularly on the aerodynamic front. That’s why the FW25 is a completely
new race car." BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen said "To achieve our aims,
we have built an even more powerful engine in Munich. Yet again, we were the
first to test it on the track and even earlier than last year. The BMW P83,
like its two predecessors, is designed to be the most powerful engine in
Formula One."
BMW's Gerhard Berger said "We want to pick up from where we left off
in terms of our qualifying performance of 2002, especially under the new
regulations for a single timed lap. But for the 2003 season we have firmly
resolved to claim more wins and podium places. We’re focused ahead while
also keeping an eye on the competition in the rear-view mirror."
Juan Pablo Montoya said "My last win goes back to September 2001. I'm
hungry, I want to win some GPs and hope that I've got the technical
possibilities to do that, I always want to be the best and I want to be world
champion one day." Ralf Schumacher said "Hopes for our team are high, as are my own.
I hope that the chassis lives up to its promises, that the new BMW engine will
be the best in the field again, and that both will lead to race wins. In 2002,
I achieved the only victory for our team -- there should be more wins in 2003."
23
Jan: The Renault F1 team launched their 2003 contender the R23 in 2
parts, at Lucerne on the 20th of January and at the Paul Ricard track on the
23rd. After achieving their goal of finishing 4th in the 2002 season, their
ambitions for the 2003 season is to be closer to McLaren and Williams and
finish at least 4 times on the podium. CEO Patrick Faure said "The coming season is an important one for
the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team. First of all, it will see the introduction of
regulation changes agreed upon at the last minute. We will try to integrate
them as best we can and make the most of them. These new measures will
strengthen the driver’s contribution.
In performance terms, it will be vital to move closer to the best on track.
Our target is clear: in 2003, we are looking for four podium finishes and a
race-finish record of at least 80%. This is the ambition we will be focusing
on when we travel to Melbourne in March.
One more thing will be new for 2003: the Team has opted to limit the amount of
testing it will undertake in exchange for two hours of additional testing,
with three cars, on the Friday of each Grand Prix. This bold option will
certainly enable us to fine-tune the car more effectively to each circuit and
also collect a significant amount of data with a view to 2004, a season that
must see us battling for the world title. This choice, which is not motivated
by financial considerations, fits perfectly with our three-year plan to return
to the pinnacle of Formula 1." Managing Director (UK) Flavio Briatore said "We are more motivated
than ever,” he admitted. “Thanks to the perfect co-ordination between
Enstone and Viry-Châtillon, we have a strong team which can also count on the
benefits of Renault’s technology via the Technocentre. In Jarno Trulli and
Fernando Alonso, we possess a tightly-knit, well-balanced driver pairing." Managing Director (France) Jean-Jacques His said "Although the
exterior dimensions of the RS23 are very similar to those of its predecessor,
we have conducted a lot of research into the structural aspects of the engine
block. The construction of this piece of the engine is brand new, with
significantly improved stiffness. Equally, the valve control mechanism is very
different.
Following our post-Spa shake-up, we achieved a good level of reliability and
with that, more power. The final evolution of the RS22, in Suzuka qualifying
spec, demonstrated that. Our priority is to have good reliability. If you
start from a solid base, the work on performance brings real benefits."
Technical Director Mike Gascoyne said "In F1, one of the real secrets
to performance lies in continuity: starting from scratch every year is the
best way to never win anything. The R202 gave us a good base to work from, and
we retained its strengths: a good aero package which gave it very good
efficiency in the quick corners, very sophisticated electronics, and excellent
high-speed change of direction. After that, we looked to fill in the gaps, and
have gone even further in some areas.
The engine-chassis integration is very different to what it was twelve months
ago. Equally, we have high hopes for our titanium-carbon gearbox.
On paper, the R23 is much more competitive than the R202. For example, its
aero efficiency should improve by about 15%. In F1 terms, that’s a
significant step.
I will be disappointed if we don’t score several podium finishes. That would
mean I hadn’t done my job properly. The design of the R23 was obviously
guided by performance targets, but also reliability. In 2002, we realised that
when we finished races, we almost always did so in the points. The first
priority was to make the car quicker, more responsive to set-up changes and
easier to drive. But we also had to make sure that the car was going to cross
the finish line. Our aim is to finish 80% of the races this season, and score
points every time."
Jarno Trulli said "We have already been running with the hybrid R23
for a while, but to see the car 100% finished is a special feeling. On top of
that, this even at Paul Ricard has once again made me appreciate how big a
company Renault is: being involved in F1 with them is pretty extraordinary.
From the dealers to the sponsors, F1 is important at every level.
In all areas, I’m a better driver today than when I started out. At the age
of 29, it’s difficult to believe that I’m one of the most experienced
drivers on the grid! Having said that, I am ready. The Renault adventure has
come at exactly the right time and will give me a chance to show just what I
am capable of.
I was extremely impressed by the quality of the Team’s works this winter.
Straight of the box, the R23 ran like clockwork: we didn’t have a single
mechanical problem even though the car had lots of new parts on it. In terms
of performance, we need to wait for the definite aerodynamic package. Even so,
I will be looking for several podiums with the car this year." Fernando Alonso said "I know Renault is a great opportunity for
me. The company’s record in F1 speaks for itself, and the progress that has
been achieved in recent months has been a great confidence booster. I am very
optimistic and determined to prove I deserve my place in the team.
I learned a lot last year as test driver. I know how the Team works, and
certain things are now just automatic for me. That’s already an advantage
for the new season. Jarno and I use similar set-ups as well.
I want to do well, but also take things one step at a time. I will be out to
learn first and foremost. Jarno has a great deal of experience in F1, so I
will try to benefit from that and I'll be ready to take any opportunity that
comes my way. The main objective however is to take Renault forward; my
personal ambitions come second to that."
21
Jan: The Jaguar Racing team launched their 2003 contender the R4.
Given all the management problems the team has gone through over the last 2
seasons, the team's ambition this year is to build a solid base. Managing Director David Pitchforth said "Jaguar Racing isn't
attempting to win the World Championship in 2003; we're attempting to lay
solid best practice foundations in terms of design, engineering, testing and
working systems on which we can build in 2003 and beyond." Engineering Director Ian Pocock said "I hope to eliminate, via the
application of good engineering practice, some of the more obvious mistakes
that Formula One teams can make. And, clearly, I also hope that we'll produce
a good, reliable car. Now, I also hope it'll be a quick car -- but, more than
that, I hope that the performance potential delivered by our aerodynamicists,
plus the Cosworth Racing and Michelin engineers, can be maximised in a
reliable way. And I want that process to improve throughout the year, and
throughout the team. And at the moment that process needs leadership, and
it'll be my job to provide it." Head of Aerodynamics Ben Agathangelou said "The R4 will be a
solid, sensible car. That might sound a bit staid, but that's because 'solid'
and 'sensible' aren't sexy words. Well, I'm sorry, but that's what R4 needs to
be. It needs to be a solid and sensible base that we can develop throughout
2003 and into 2004 and beyond -- because we can't keep junking everything at
the end of every year and starting from scratch again, which to an extent is
what happened between R2 and R3. We want R4 to be a rigorously specced car,
with no anomalies. It'll be a platform on which to build and develop. So I'm
not going to tell the media, 'Come and see the swoopy bits I've designed!
Aren't they lovely?!' I'm more likely to say, 'There's our car. It's sensible
and solid. It does what it says on the tin. Now we're gradually going to make
it better and better." Managing Director (Cosworth) Nick Hayes said "The CR-5 is a
completely new design. A fresh sheet of paper. I'd actually say it's the first
of a new family of engines -- because last year's engine, CR-4, was an
evolution of a family which began in 1999. Okay, CR-5 draws on some of the
developments we made with the previous family, culminating in CR-4, but it's
fundamentally new and fundamentally different.
It's got a 90-degree V angle whereas CR-4 had a 72-degree V angle. The reason
we've gone to 90 degrees for 2003 is in the interests of improving the centre
of gravity (C of G) -- and I have to say we've achieved a very significant
step for 2003 in terms of lowering the C of G. And not all of that improvement
has come about via the wider V angle, either. A lot of good, clever design in
repositioning various items in order to help lower the C of G, to be honest.
But that's normal; every time we design a new engine, we look very hard at the
V angle because, by and large, the wider you make the V angle, the lower you
make the centre of gravity; and the lower you make the centre of gravity, the
better you make the car's dynamics.
It's a significant forward step. Often, when you design and build an all-new
engine, you start the new season a little behind the level at which your old
engine finished the previous season. Your target is parity but CR-5 is already
significantly ahead of CR-4."
Mark Webber said "The R4 looks good, certainly. As always, you get a
few little snags early on - and R4 will be no different. That's inevitable.
But I'm confident that it's a sound design. I think the research that's gone
into finding out why R3 wasn't as good as it should have been was rigorously
carried out, and the lessons have been learned for R4.
I'm not going to get out my crystal ball and start making predictions - but I
want to go racing, let's put it that way. Last year, at Minardi, I was in a
team that, largely through no fault of its own, was stuck at or near the back
throughout the season. I'm not saying we're going to be challenging the big
boys in 2003, but I'm certainly hoping we'll be serious players in that tight
competitive bunch immediately behind them. That's my goal, and if we could
begin to move towards the front of that bunch towards the second half the
season, that would be a very good performance, I think. So I'm looking for
points finishes, especially in the second half of the year." Antonio Pizzonia said "I think I'm ready for F1. I think I learned
a lot at BMW-Williams - I drove more than 15,000 kilometres in testing last
year - which is a lot. Plus, I was driving a very quick car, and I was working
for a very experienced team - and I think that helped me to learn a lot, too.
But now I'm ready to race, and I really hope I'm going to be able to do a
really good job for Jaguar Racing. I'll be under more pressure, of course,
because a test driver is never really under a lot of pressure - but I'm ready
for it. I'm looking forward to it, in fact. The team is upbeat and based on my
experience at BMW-Williams I can see the benefits that the new engineering-led
philosophy is bringing."
