Formula 1

Malaysian GP: Minardi Saturday qualifying notes

Wilux Minardi Cosworth personnel carried on with their preparations for Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix in the same vein as yesterday, working steadily through a technical programme aimed at finalising details for this afternoon's two qualifying ...

Published: Mar 21, 2004, 2:36 PM

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Wilux Minardi Cosworth personnel carried on with their preparations for Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix in the same vein as yesterday, working steadily through a technical programme aimed at finalising details for this afternoon's two qualifying sessions and setting the final specification for the Minardi PS04B chassis to be used in tomorrow's race.

Ultimately, qualifying produced a positive result for the Faenza team, Gianmaria Bruni recording the 16th fastest time of the afternoon, while team mate, Zsolt Baumgartner, was 17th. With the distinct possibility of rain in the vicinity of the Sepang International Circuit tomorrow afternoon holding out the prospect of an unexpected result, the Faenza squad feels it has every reason to be cautiously optimistic going into Sunday's race.

Gianmaria Bruni:

"It was good, as we matched our best lap time this morning in qualifying. Personally, I was very pleased to finish my first Formula One qualifying session after the problem we had in Melbourne, and I will admit I was just a little bit nervous before qualifying started. On my second qualifying run, I had good times in the first two sectors, but then made a mistake in the last sector and missed an apex, which probably cost me two-tenths of a second. Everyone on the team did a really good job today, and although I'm sure it will be a tough race, we will try our best."

Zsolt Baumgartner:

"I'm not too happy with this afternoon's result, as we did a faster lap this morning. I made a mistake in the third sector on what should have been my fastest lap and lost quite a bit of time as a result. I really thought we could have done better. It's good that we're starting in front of three other drivers tomorrow, though, and my hope now is for a reliable car and a positive race result."

Paul Stoddart, Team Principal, Wilux Minardi Cosworth

"All things said, I think we saw a good performance today from both drivers. We've been there or thereabouts all weekend when it comes to splitting the Jordans, and in reality, although we also have a BAR and a Renault starting behind us tomorrow, it's clear who we're racing. Both Gimmi and Zsolt have given 100 per cent this weekend, and we feel we're in good shape for tomorrow's race."

GIANMARIA BRUNI
Chassis: PS04B/02 (No. 20)
Spare: PS04B/04
Best lap: 1 min 38.577 secs
Position: 16th

ZSOLT BAUMGARTNER
Chassis: PS04B/01 (No. 21)
Best lap: 1 min 39.272 secs
Position: 17th

-minardi-

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