FRIDAY PRACTICE

Indianapolis
27-29 September 2002

FREE PRACTICE - Friday 27 September

Driver Chassis
Jacques Villeneuve BAR004/06
Olivier Panis BAR004/08
T-Car BAR004/09


Jacques Villeneuve Position: 5th
Best lap time: 1:15.035 (40 laps)

"We got off to quite a slow start today because the track was still drying at the beginning of the session. The infield section here is hardly used so the asphalt is always very slippery. We were struggling to find rear grip throughout the session but we did quite a few runs to try different things and basically just worked through the problem. I managed to get one good lap on new tyres before it got too slippery. Last year's race wasn't very good for us so I'm pleased we've got off to a good start today. During the last few races we've frequently been the best of the Bridgestone runners after Ferrari and our qualifying has been improving so let's hope we can carry today's progress through to the race on Sunday."


Olivier Panis Position: 18th
Best lap time: 1:15.941 (34 laps)

"During both sessions I suffered from massive oversteer. We tried to find different solutions but nothing seemed to work. I think we will have to strip the car down completely in order to see if we don't have a more fundamental problem that we cannot see on the data. I think there is a lot of work to be done this afternoon."


David Richards, Team Principal

"Jacques had a very positive session so our main concern is getting the best out of Olivier's car for tomorrow. We have a lot of work to do this afternoon to find the problem and try to bring him higher up the grid in the qualifying session."



SATURDAY QUALIFYING

QUALIFYING - Saturday 28 September


Driver Chassis

Jacques Villeneuve
BAR004/04

Olivier Panis
BAR004/08

T-Car
BAR004/09


Lucky Strike B.A.R Honda drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis qualified 7th and 12th respectively in Indianapolis today ahead of tomorrow's 2002 United States Grand Prix. Jacques' day had started with a problematic free practice but was transformed after a steady improvement throughout qualifying which saw him secure his best grid position of the season. Olivier was unable to improve on a difficult start to his weekend, losing his two fastest runs to problems with traffic and oversteer.

Jacques Villeneuve Position: 7th
Best lap time: 1:11.738 (12 laps)

"I'm very pleased with 7th. After yesterday's session I felt we had the potential to make the top 10 but we had a mechanical problem this morning which cost me practice time and I really didn't get enough running to feel too confident about qualifying. As it turned out, the car felt good from the start. We made changes with every run and steadily improved throughout the session. It looks like oversteer is going to be a big problem for a lot of drivers tomorrow though. The asphalt characteristic causes you to slide a lot and you use up all the grip very quickly, so we've got a lot of work to do on race set-up to make sure the tyres don't 'go away'. I don't know what kind of race it will be but I'll try hard and hopefully get into the points at the end of it."


Olivier Panis Position: 12th
Best lap time: 1:12.161 (9 laps)

"The tyres reacted differently in each of my runs this afternoon. I had major oversteer on my first run but I improved a lot on my second. Then I would have gone quicker again on my third run had I not been blocked on my quick lap. However, considering how the car has been all weekend, I can consider myself lucky to qualify 12th today."


David Richards, Team Principal

"Jacques did a great job to qualify 7th today after a difficult practice this morning. He steadily improved throughout the session and starts tomorrow's race from his best grid position this season. Olivier was less lucky. His session started well but he lost out to traffic and suffered with major oversteer on his quickest runs. We still have some work to do to optimise our race set-up but we have a very good chance of securing another points finish tomorrow."



SUNDAY RACE!!!!! RACE - Sunday 29 September

Driver Chassis

Jacques Villeneuve
BAR004/04

Olivier Panis
BAR004/08

T-Car
BAR004/09

Temperatures
Track: 30-35C
Air: 25-27C


Lucky Strike B.A.R Honda finished in the points for the second successive race in Indianapolis today where Jacques Villeneuve secured a crucial Championship point for the team. He sensed a top-6 finish was achievable from the off after a clash between the two Williams cars promoted him to 6th at the end of the opening lap. Jacques remained consistent and aggressive throughout the 73-lap race with a performance that always looked worthy of a points finish. Olivier's weekend never really recovered from a difficult start and after a slow getaway from the grid, he made the best of the situation to finish 12th today.

Jacques Villeneuve Position: 6th Best lap time: 1:13.848

"The team did a great job today, as they have all weekend. We picked up a very important point and really made the best of things in the race. I had been quite worried about grip so the tyres really dictated a two-stop strategy today. We made a few changes after warm-up this morning to try to counter any problems and the car actually worked well in the race. The track picked up grip but it was tough going for the first 6-10 laps after the pitstops. Once the fuel went down the tyres actually got better so it was easy to do some quick laps. We've been quite competitive here this weekend; I could drive the car aggressively and overtake. A good showing here means we should be better off in Suzuka so I'm optimistic about a good finish to the season."

Olivier Panis Position: 12th Best lap time: 1:14.263

"Looking on the positive side I have to say 'Congratulations' to Jacques. He drove a hard race to finish 6th and secured a very important point for the team. On the other hand, this has been a disappointing end to a difficult weekend for me. I had a very bad start and lost places into the first corner then had to follow slower cars until the first pitstop. We then suspected a mechanical problem and I couldn't really push as hard as I needed to, so I pitted early for my second stop. After that, we seemed to get over the problem and I could start pushing again but it was always going to be a struggle to recover. I have to put this weekend behind me now and hope for better things in Japan."

David Richards, Team Principal

"It's been a very positive weekend all round with Jacques making the very best of the car and the team doing a great job for him. Unfortunately it was a different story for Olivier. He suffered from a series of problems on Friday and, although there were occasions where he was able to show his true pace, I'm sure it's a weekend he'd rather put behind him. One extra point moves us one place further forward in the Championship and with the continued improvements that Honda are making, I'm very hopeful of a strong finish to the season in Suzuka."