Australian GP: BAR Honda Friday notes

Jacques Villeneuve
"12th position is not too bad for the first day. We've worked mainly with the race in mind and we're certainly looking better than last year. The car is a lot more driveable. We're not quick enough yet but this car is good to drive aggressively so I think we will be better off in qualifying. We should continue to get closer during the weekend. I love this track so I'm looking forward to the race on Sunday."

Olivier Panis
"Despite the result on the time sheet, I feel good about the car. In damp conditions this morning I was the quickest at one point. When the track was drier I was using the different tyre and the car still felt competitive; my second sector was quick. We spent quite a lot of time making some alterations and I lost the chance to use my new set of tyres, so we didn't see the full potential. Generally, I'm feeling positive and I'm looking forward to qualifying tomorrow."

David Richards, Team Principal
"I'm very pleased with our first day of competitive running this season, as we have accomplished exactly what we set out to achieve. We were looking for a good race set-up and both drivers are extremely pleased with the driveability and balance of their cars. The complete B.A.R Honda package ran reliably throughout the session and gave our engineers plenty of feedback before qualifying. Tomorrow we'll know for the first time where we really stand, and just how much work we have to do."

Malcolm Oastler, Technical Director
"Today was a good session for the drivers. They are both very positive and are happy with the overall balance of the car. We ran both of the tyres that Bridgestone brought here and saw an improvement when the track started to dry, except for a little understeer. We still have some work to do ahead of qualifying but both drivers managed a good long run to prepare for the race and there were no real reliability issues."

Driver                  Chassis

Jacques Villeneuve     004/03

Olivier Panis          004/04

T-Car                  004/02

Jacques Villeneuve
Position: 12th
Best time: 1:30.352 (38 laps)

Olivier Panis
Position: 18th
Best time: 1:31.127 (31 laps)

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