2005 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix - Team and Driver Race Preview from News On F1

(selected team quotes, for a full team and driver preview click on the team name)

Geoffrey Willis, Technical Director "After a challenging pre season testing programme, made more complex by circuit changes and poor weather on top of the usual testing issues, it's a relief to be off to Melbourne 4 the start of the season. While all the teams have now run under the full 2005 regulations, at Melbourne we will have our first opportunity to truly see the relative performance of the cars. Despite a number of problems during testing we are happy with the fundamental performance of the Bï¿½Aï¿½R Honda 007 but like many others would have preferred a bit more preparation time to feel more confident. Our objective in 2005 is to win races and as last year we will travel to every circuit aiming to be on the podium."

Bob Bell, Technical Director "The only big uncertainty is our genuine competitive position. We are optimistic that we have closed the gap to Ferrari, but their big potential advantage is reliability as they are racing a known car in Melbourne; balanced against that is the fact that their competitorsï¿½ cars have been specifically designed to the new rules where theirs has not. Looking at test times, ourselves and McLaren seem to be the front-running teams, and we expect Ferrari to be part of that group in Australia. However, experience has taught everybody that winter testing times are not reliable indicators, so we must wait and see what Melbourne brings. But we have a good car, motivated drivers and a strong race team that adapts well to new regulations. We are very optimistic for the opening race of the new season."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): Following the end of winter testing, the anticipation for the start of the season is increasing day by day. Everyone in the team wants to know where we stand and canï¿½t wait for the race in Melbourne. The past few months were really a race for the engineers who had to react to the extensive rule changes in a very short period of time. For BMW, the goal was to achieve an engine that would last two race weekends. This is four times the duration which we had to achieve in 2003, and therefore a huge challenge for the engineers. We also have to complete qualifying and the race with just one set of tyres. Reliability will therefore be a deciding factor for success in Melbourne, and probably for much of the first half of the season.

Norbert Haug, Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"It has been an extremely hard last four months for everybody in the team, at Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart. Especially our test team has had a stressful last 12 weeks to achieve the test results essential for a good start into the 2005 season at Melbourne. Taking the results of the pre-season testing into account there should be up to five teams being capable of impressing in Australia. During the course of the preparations we put a total of a little less than 6,600 km on the new MP4-20 and we achieved several successful race simulations, and in addition longer runs with the new engines completing up to more than 1,800 km. It was a positive experience to suffer not a single engine failure during the long period of track testing, which we have never achieved in the run up to the season in the years before. As a consequence of the new regulation, which allows the engines to be replaced without penalty only after two race weekends, the engine's lifespan is doubled compared to last year. So the focus of our preparation work was on speed as well as on reliability keeping our engine technicians and the team's chassis engineers very busy in the build up to the first Grand Prix at Melbourne's Albert Park. The venue of the Australian Grand Prix is a medium fast low grip circuit where the tyre wear is comparably low. About 60 per cent of a lap are run under full throttle, so this will be the first serious check of where everybody is in terms of power and reliability."

Christian Horner, Sporting Director: ï¿½Our first year is a year in which to build for future successes. From the very start we will stand for passion, youthful philosophy, performance-oriented thinking ï¿½ plus something decisive: fun and entertainment. Thereï¿½s a distinct lack of both in Formula 1.ï¿½

Willy Rampf (Technical Director): "It's going to be a very interesting start to the season, because of the new regulations. The new aerodynamic rules are quite drastic, with heavy revisions to the front and rear which have cost everyone quite a lot of downforce and made the cars a little more nervous.
"The new tyre rules will also make things very tricky for qualifying and the race as you may now only use one set of tyres from Saturday qualifying onwards. You have to choose from your prime and option tyres on Friday, and between Saturday qualifying and the end of the weekend the single set you choose will have gone through several heating and cooling cycles, will have done two qualifying sessions, one on Saturday afternoon and one on Sunday morning, and the whole race. It will be crucial on Friday, therefore, to choose the tyre option that not only gives you optimum performance but also durability.
"Qualifying will now be different too. We will run with low fuel for maximum performance on Saturday afternoon, and then with race fuel on Sunday morning, and the times will be aggregated. Thus the effect of the fuel on the qualifying time will be less and the grid will be a more accurate reflection of true performance.
"Preserving the tyres in the race will be a major factor. During our long runs and race simulations in testing we have been quite pleased with the performance of our Michelin tyres.
"The tyre issue will also affect race strategy. There will be fewer refuelling stops. Most races will probably be two stops, possibly even one, though there is a penalty in terms of car performance trying to get by with one because the tyres have a great fuel load to carry.
"Overall, it is very difficult to make any predictions prior to the weekend. We have not always run at the same venue as our competition during winter testing and we will only find out in Melbourne exactly where we are. That's what will make Saturday afternoon and Sunday in particular so exciting. And it is no longer about the performance of the tyres on the first lap or in the early laps. Now the last part of the race will be absolutely crucial, and if they have conserved their tyres better than their rivals I think we will see some people being able to improve their positions in the closing stages after the final pit stops. There will be much more focus on the end of the race and a little less perhaps on grid position, and I think this is going to make things also interesting for the spectators."

Luca Marmorini (Technical Director - Engine): "The Australian Grand Prix is the first race in which we run in warmer conditions. Even though we test in Spain in the run-up to the race, it is still not as warm as Melbourne, and nowhere near the heat that we have in Malaysia. The opening race of the season is always a lottery, to be honest, but I feel that we have done all we can as a team to put ourselves in the best shape possible. Aside from the engine, we will also only see how the weather affects tyre degradation levels, which ï¿½ with the introduction of the one tyre per race rule for 2005 ï¿½ will be make or break for any team's performance in the race this season. We have tried to cover all angles when dealing with engine preparations for Australia, but we will only see the fruits of our labours in Melbourne."

Trevor Carlin, Sporting Director: "I am very excited to be here. We only had five weeks to prepare for this race so everyone at the Jordan factory has done a fantastic job to get the cars ready. Hopefully we can be reliable, get both cars to the end of the race, maybe have a bit of luck and finish close to the top ten. That is the best we can hope for."

Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Motorsport, said: ï¿½We are very much looking forward to this exciting new season. The regulations this year will make it especially interesting and a challenge for all involved. Each driver has only four sets of dry tyres per race weekend and this will test both the tyre manufacturers and the drivers. However, our technical personnel have been working extremely hard and I have confidence in their ability to rise to the challenge. Our partner teams have also taken on this extra challenge with us and I wish them the best of luck this season. Australia is an excellent location to start the year. Not only is it a well organised race but we are always made to feel very welcome by the great spectators so we hope we can give them a good show and come away with a good result.ï¿½

Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport director ï¿½We face a host of unanswered questions as we prepare for the opening race of the season in Melbourne. How will the latest tyre regulations affect wear rates and consistency in the heat of competition? Iï¿½ll tell you once the chequered flag has dropped on Sunday afternoon! ï¿½We made very encouraging progress during our final pre-season tests in Spain, where we achieved some excellent lap times, but we donï¿½t yet know how that will translate to Melbourne. ï¿½The roads in Albert Park are open to local traffic for most of the year, so the track is usually dirty and slippery when F1 cars first venture out. Traditionally, the grip level picks up quite quickly as F1 rubber is laid down, but that process might take rather longer this year. With drivers restricted to one set of tyres per race, we are using harder compounds that will leave less rubber on the track. As a result, it is likely that conditions will change less than we are used to between Friday and Sunday.ï¿½

Session - Local Time	2005		2004
1st Friday Practice - 11:00	Results	Report	Results
2nd Friday Practice - 14:00	Results	Report	Results
1st Saturday Practice - 9:00	Results		Results
2nd Saturday Practice - 10:15	Results	Report	Results
Saturday Qualifying - 13:00	Results	Report	Results
Sunday Qualifying - 10:00	Results	Report	Results
Race - 14:00	Results	Report	Results
What the teams and drivers said Preview - Friday - Saturday - Sunday	FIA Press Conferences Thursday - Friday - Q1 - Q2 - Race

2005 Australian Formula 1 Grand PrixTeams and driver race previews

2005 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix
Teams and driver race previews