Jaguar on fire in Monaco - thursday practice 2004

By steve
May 21 2004

Here's what the drivers had to say after a disastrous start to the 2004 monaco weekend. Webber's car overheated quite badly and Klein's car suffered some damage after a run-in with the barriers.

Jaguar driver comments.
Christian Klien (18th):
"This was a completely new track for me today and I am pleased with how it is going. I had a good morning session and I was getting quicker as I spent more time out there. The street circuit is very different to the other tracks but I like this challenge. As I started to work on tyre comparisons this afternoon an engine electrical box failed and it in turn affected my hydraulics. This caused me to hit the barriers at corner three which was not ideal but looking at the car I am fortunate that there was not more damaged caused considering the lack of run-offs. The team are now looking at the car to assess the damage but I know that the team are in a good position to ensure that my R5 is back up and running for Saturday qualifying."

Mark Webber (didn't take part):
"Not the start to the weekend that I had anticipated or hoped for. I had my usual test programme to work through today but unfortunately I suffered a loss of engine oil pressure and had to come to an immediate stop on the track. The car caught on fire and I was forced to act quickly to try and limit the damage to the chassis and engine. The damage, despite my efforts was extensive enough for me to miss out on the second session. The team are working flat out to repair the car and at this stage the engine appears to be ok. However, until I get back out on track and actually put some miles on the car we won't really know. I would have liked to have completed more mileage today but that's the way it goes and we will be back out on Saturday ready for qualifying."