Hockenheim Preview - Jaguar Racing

By .
July 22 2004

The race at Hockenheim should prove interesting. We’ll see two great former F3000 rivals in the same car. Most people are saying not to expect too much from Wilson in his first race, for Jaguar. He may however be on the pace very quickly and showing similar pace to Mark by Sundays Warm-up.

Remember the fact that Justin was only in a Minardi does not make him a F1 virgin.

If you get two drivers, one not so good, in the same good car the good driver will beat the slightly poorer driver, but not necessarily by a significant margin. Put them in a car that is hard to drive and the Margin will be very noticeable. The Minardi was a poor car and hard to drive. Wilson adapted to the Minardi quickly and was at least as good as Verstappen, an F1 veteran…………..and the Jaguar is a much better car than the Minardi.

.........On the other hand - everyone could be right and it may take a few races for Wilson to compete with Webber.

Both Webber and Wilson have been on the Podium at Hockenheim in F3000.

Here’s what the team had to say……..

Justin Wilson: “The word ‘busy’ is an understatement of how have I been recently. "A new team, a new car, but still the same goals – to score points in Formula One. I am incredibly happy to be here and have a lot of people to thank for helping me get to this stage. Friday testing at Hockenheim cannot come quick enough for me. The Jaguar R4 has made so much progress in the last few months so I will be looking to make the most of its pace and reliability. Although I have only been here just over a week, the team has made me feel very welcome and I am doing my best to learn about my newfound environment. In Jaguar I have a great team supported by the best in the business in the shape of Cosworth Racing and Pi Research. Yesterday, I completed a 50km shakedown test with the team at Silverstone and all went according to plan. My seating position in the car is comfortable and the R4 felt very good, albeit for a handful of laps which was enough to wet my appetite pre-Hockenheim. To be honest, I only know about 50% of the track at Hockenheim since I have not raced there since they changed it. This is where the Friday testing is so valuable and makes a huge difference to both the team and myself. Michelin will be new to me too but the team has an excellent relationship with them. The tyre- war so far has clearly been one of Michelin having the upper hand and let’s hope this continues this weekend. With only five races to go I am acutely aware of the responsibility that I have to help the team push for fifth and I will certainly make the most of any opportunity that comes my way. In addition, my contract with Jaguar Racing is only for the next five races and added altogether, I go to Hockenheim with a lot to prove to everyone.”

Mark Webber: “Hockenheim is a good straight-forward circuit that I enjoy racing at. I won here with sportcars in 1998 and was on the podium again with F3000 in 2001{he was on the podium – but in 2000}. The track requires medium to high downforce and I believe that the R4 will suit this circuit more so than it did at Silverstone two weeks ago. Since my second ‘home’ race at Silverstone I have been really busy with the team attending sponsor-related events with Beck’s in Istanbul and working with the team at the factory in Milton Keynes. Our aim for the last few races very much remains the same and I would like to finish on a high at Hockenheim before going into the three-week break. As always I will be challenging for any points that the big boys leave behind, although at this stage in the game it is always much harder to find a point given the pace and reliability of the big three teams. Although we have improved our reliability and our pace is evident, our immediate competition has not stood still. Nonetheless, I am pleased with our progress to date – both on the R4 and the R5 development programme for next season."

David Pitchforth, Managing Director of Jaguar Racing:"The last few months have been incredibly busy for us, with back-to-back races, a home-race, tests and now a new driver for the remaining five races of this season. We are extremely pleased with how the team has competed so far this season and we are now focusing on these last few races to push for as many points as possible with a 5th finish in mind. Justin has joined us at a critical time in the Championship and we are going to give him all the support he needs in order to compete. We appreciate that his first few races are going to be like pre- season testing for him so we are certainly not putting him under any pressure or setting any specific targets. We continue with our on- going development on the Jaguar R4 and despite our below-than-expectation form at Silverstone the net effect of our efforts remains positive. Michelin are continuing to provide us with excellent compounds and our on-track reliability keeps getting better. With points being a realistic target for us this weekend and Justin making his Jaguar debut, we expect another busy, albeit positive outcome to the German Grand Prix.”