Hard work and progress for Monteiro

The Formula One action at the Hockenheim circuit got underway on Friday with the first two free practice sessions of the German Grand Prix, round twelve of the 2005 championship season. The day's program for Tiago Monteiro centred on finding the best set up for the Jordan Toyota EJ15 as well as choosing the right Bridgestone tyres available from the Japanese manufacturer.

Tiago Monteiro.

Photo by xpb.cc.

This opening day saw hard work and strong progress...

"The track was dirty at the beginning," Tiago explained. "I went out on the hard compound tyres in the morning; I improved my times and then we tested two different aerodynamic configurations. I am satisfied with the overall behaviour of the car. A time of 1:19.400 is acceptable."

"My mission in the second session was to check all the adjustments on the car with a heavy load, which always complicates driving. Meanwhile, my teammate worked on the car with a lighter fuel load and finished in front of Minardi, who had adopted the same tactics. It is very important for us to work toward the race on Friday's, and I am happy with the results and of the data generated."

Tiago improved his time by 1.173 seconds from the morning sessions despite running the Jordan Toyota with a full fuel tank. However, there is still work to be done in regard to tyre choice as there is still a threat of rain in the air.

"We have some doubts about the choice of tyres. It will be necessary for us to analyze the situation further and to weigh things up for each option. Rain? If it is confirmed, it could only play in our favour. I do not have a problem with running in the rain!" concluded Tiago with a big grin as he secretly hopes to gain an advantage on Sunday, which is his 29th birthday.

-dca-