Bahrain GP: Jordan Friday practice notes

Comments from the Jordan team after Friday practices for the Bahrain Grand Prix

Nick Heidfeld:

"It was the first time on this circuit for everybody and the morning session went well for us. I like the circuit so far although there are a lot of slow corners. I would prefer more quick corners but there are some nice parts in the middle. Today, at least, we have improved compared to our rivals and that is in part thanks to Bridgestone."

"Unfortunately I lost three quarters of the second session due to a technical problem which caused me to stop on the track. It is a worse hindrance than usual both as a driver and in terms of setting up the car, because it is valuable time at a new circuit. Hopefully we will be able to use data from Timo and Giorgio to set up the car for tomorrow."

Giorgio Pantano:

"I'm quite happy about free practice today. We have started working in the right direction with the car and also in myself I am getting more comfortable with car, it feels really good. We are beginning to see a little bit of difference - we are a lot closer to the front in our lap times compared to the last two races which is encouraging. For sure we still need to improve a lot because this is not the maximum we can do. But we have come to a track which is new for everybody and the engineers have worked hard to find a good set-up, a really good balance. I think it's starting to come together and I'm happier."

Timo Glock:

"Today was not bad, in fact the first session was really good apart from a small problem with the brakes. By the second session we found and fixed it and overall everything went quite well despite me making one or two mistakes. I had a spin when evaluating a particular set of tyres but the car was quite good and my last few runs were very positive."

James Robinson, Head of race and test engineering:

"It's the first day at a new track and we are all learning and adapting quickly to our new surroundings. We had a good programme today doing homework for the race, selecting tyres and the usual Friday work, interleaved with learning the new track. Unfortunately this afternoon Nick had an engine-related problem when the safety shut-down system killed the engine."

"We are hoping that there are no problems and that we can use the engine tomorrow. Timo and Giorgio worked through their programme, evaluating tyres and set-ups to optimise the circuit and so far we are feeling relatively positive about our performance this weekend."

Nick Heidfeld
Chassis: EJ14/03
Practice 1: 14th, 1:34.872 11 laps
Practice 2: 24th, 1:40.573 5 laps

Giorgio Pantano
Chassis: EJ14/02
Practice 1: 15th, 1:34.967 17 laps
Practice 2: 19th, 1:32.708 18 laps

Timo Glock
Chassis: EJ14/01
Practice 1: 17th, 1:35.760 16 laps
Practice 2: 19th, 1:33.695 27 laps

-jordan-