|
|
MINARDI
QUALIFYING REPORT
IMOLA, ITALY, April 19, 2003
– With the threat of rain hanging over Imola’s Circuit Enzo e Dino Ferrari
as the final qualifying session for Sunday’s San Marino Grand Prix approached,
European Minardi Cosworth drivers Justin Wilson and Jos Verstappen were
holding their breath. They would make the first two runs of the afternoon,
and a sudden rain shower could have a major impact on the outcome of the
session. As it turned out, a few drops of rain did fall just prior
to the start of qualifying. Wilson then found the track a little
slippery, but put in a skilful performance to record what turned out to
be the 18th-fastest lap. Verstappen was on course for an even quicker
time, but his car spun off the track at the Variante Alta chicane and hit
a barrier, thus preventing the hard-charging Dutchman from completing his
run. He will now start tomorrow’s race from either the final position
on the grid or the pit lane, depending on whether the team elects to run
his repaired race car or the spare car. The team made good progress
with vehicle performance during Saturday morning’s free practice sessions,
both drivers concentrating on honing the chassis balance and aerodynamic
configuration of their cars in preparation for tomorrow’s race.
JUSTIN WILSON
“That was not an easy run
- the track was very slippery with the spots of rain that fell just before
qualifying started. A couple of times I had big slides, but managed
to keep the car on the track. The lap could have been better in a
couple of places, but that is always the case. Generally, I was quite
happy with the way it went, and we’ll now see what the race brings us tomorrow.”
JOS VERSTAPPEN
“Obviously, I’m not very
happy with today’s qualifying performance. The situation wasn’t helped
by the fact we had to do an engine change after the end of practice, and
in this afternoon’s pre-qualifying warm-up the new engine felt different.
I wasn’t absolutely sure how it would be in qualifying, but as it turned
out, it was fine and the car was performing well up until the point when
I had the accident. I just hit the curb too hard, picked up oversteer,
slid off the track and hit the wall. I’m fine, but the car was a bit damaged
and I apologise to the guys for the extra work that will be required to
make the repairs. Tomorrow could be another unpredictable race, depending
on the weather, so once again it is going to be important for us to finish
in order to capitalise on the misfortunes of others.”
PAUL STODDARD
“It has been a sharp end
to what started as a promising day. The team had an interesting,
and busy morning, with a precautionary engine change on Jos’s car between
the free practice session and qualifying. A slightly slippery track
saw Justin have a small ‘moment’ in qualifying, and sadly, Jos have a far
larger
one, which resulted in him not completing his lap. I feel for both
drivers today, as they were giving 100 per cent, but the times just didn’t
quite reflect that. We look forward to a better race tomorrow.”
Chassis allocation: Wilson
(No 18) PS03/04, Verstappen (No 19) PS03/01, Spare car (Wilson)
PS03/02 |
