Red Bull Racing Practice 1 & 2 Reports

By Ian Lockwood
May 27 2005

Fridays free practice sessions were reasonable but far from spectacular for the team - there is still a lot work to be done. With BAR back, points are going to be increasingly hard to score.

David Coulthard (Car 14)
Chassis Number: 3
Best Time 1st Session: 1:35.413; Position: 13; Laps: 7
Best Time 2nd Session: 1:33.430; Position: 14; Laps: 22

“After what was a comparatively competitive performance in Monte Carlo, there’s a certain amount of reality for us back here. BAR are back and, on a long circuit like this, inefficiencies will show up more. Therefore, I think it’s going to be pretty difficult for us to get into the points this weekend, but I’ll be pushing hard as usual.”

Tonio Liuzzi (Car 15)
Chassis Number: 1
Best Time 1st Session: 1:36.129; Position: 15; Laps: 12
Best Time 2nd Session: 1:34.842; Position: 21; Laps: 16

“That was quite a difficult session today; the track is really dirty and there was not much grip. We had a lot to do, trying to analyse everything before the race and understanding exactly how we want the car to be set-up. We tried both types of tyre, which went well. For sure, we still have more work to do with the set-up tomorrow, but things are definitely moving in the right direction. Towards the end of the session, I had a hydraulic problem.”

Christian Klien (Friday Test Driver)
Chassis Number: 2
Best Time 1st Session: 1:33.304; Position: 9; Laps: 19
Best Time 2nd Session: 1:33.174; Position: 12; Laps: 32

“That was quite good. We first went out for a long run on one type of tyre and completed more than 15 laps. The car felt good and I was very comfortable on this track. I then went out again on the other type of tyre and posted a couple of quick lap times. I had some instability on the entry into Turn 5 on one of the early laps. The track was dirty, I went off the racing line and onto the grass, but there was no drama.”

Günther Steiner, Technical Director: “The air and track temperatures have been higher than expected, so we’ll have to evaluate all the data to see which tyre to use tomorrow. David had no major problems although we still need to work on the balance of his car. Christian did well, completing all the laps we needed to evaluate the tyres, but Tonio’s car had a hydraulic problem near the end of the session. The hydraulic oil pressure dropped, so we stopped his car to identify the problem and prevent any damage.”