AUSTRALIA/JAPAN: JAGUAR AND BAR HOPE NEW RULES WILL HELP THE WEAKER TEAMS AS COUNTDOWN APPROACHES FOR START OF NEW FORMULA ONE SEASON

Record ID: 645736

  • Title: AUSTRALIA/JAPAN: JAGUAR AND BAR HOPE NEW RULES WILL HELP THE WEAKER TEAMS AS COUNTDOWN APPROACHES FOR START OF NEW FORMULA ONE SEASON
  • Date: 3rd March 2003
  • Summary: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (MARCH 4, 2003) (REUTERS) PAN ACROSS JAGUAR R4 CAR (ANTONIO) PIZZONIA AND (MARK) WEBBER'S NAMES WRITTEN ON CAR TOGETHER WITH BRAZIL AND AUSTRALIA FLAGS SIDE SHOT CAR PHOTOGRAPHER TAKING PICTURE. (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) JAGUAR DRIVER MARK WEBBER POSING ALONGSIDE TEAM OWNER JACKIE STEWART AND THE OTHER DRIVER ANTONIO PIZZONIA WEBBER PIZZONIA JACKIE STEWART PIZZONIA AND WEBBER'S NAMES ON CAR (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAGUAR DRIVER, MARK WEBBER, SAYING: "I think it's very unlikely that we'll go out and win but our goal this year is to earn some more respect. It's been a tough few years and we've a great platform now to build on and earn a lot of respect. We've still got a long way to go. It's a very intense mid-field battle with some very strong teams and packages" NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAGUAR BOSS, SIR JACKIE STEWART SAYING: "The early indications are that the motor car is stiff in its body unit to a level that we believe will overcome many of the discrepancies that we experienced last year" MORE OF NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAGUAR DRIVER, ANTONIO PIZZONIA, SAYING: "I come from the Amazon. I am the only racing car driver from the Amazon and we don't even have a racing track over there. We have a very small carting track which they built in 1996" WEBBER, STEWART AND PIZZONIA AT NEWS CONFERENCE PHOTOGRAPHER (LEFT TO RIGHT) PIZZONIA, WEBBER AND STEWART POSING IN FRONT OF CAR TOKYO, JAPAN (MARCH 3, 2003) (REUTERS) TV CREWS/PHOTOGRAPHERS CLUSTERED AROUND BAR TEAM DRIVERS JACQUES VILLENEUVE AND JENSON BUTTON VILLNEUVE AND BUTTON POSING (2 SHOTS) PEOPLE TAKING PICTURES (SOUNDBITE) (English) DRIVER JACQUES VILLENEUVE SAYING: "It was very difficult for us last year to say, 'please make a better engine' when the car was so bad. But at least this year we can say 'the car is good, we also need a good engine' so everything works well together. By the end of the testing, we did the last day in Imola, we were quite happy with it. We did a lot of laps without really any problem. But we have had a lot of problems in winter so there is a little bit of risk in the first race but at least we should be fighting at the front so that should be very exciting for everyone on the team." NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) DRIVER JENSON BUTTON SAYING: "I think we are all pretty confident for the season as well as the coming race and I think hopefully we can perform well, we'll see" VILLENEUVE AND BUTTON POSING (2 SHOTS) BAR CAR ON TRACK SHOWN ON BIG SCREEN (SOUNDBITE) (English) TEAM LEADER DAVID RICHARDS SAYING: "I think everyone, from a team point of view, is feeling very very positive and optimistic about the situation. There is clearly an awful amount of work that needs to be done and as always, there is never enough testing that we have done to date and we would always prefer to have another couple of weeks before the first race but anyway, looking forward to next weekend, it's a very positive situation from a team point of view" VILLENEUVE AND BUTTON POSING WITH THE HONDA ENGINE MORE OF PHOTOGRAPHERS MORE OF PHOTO SESSION
  • Embargoed: 18th March 2003 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, TOKYO, JAPAN
  • City:
  • Country: Japan Australia
  • Topics: General,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA2IRTT7VH3O3N1II4IBDM6JEJB
  • Story Text: Jaguar and BAR are hoping the new rules will help the weaker teams as the countdown approaches for start of the Formula one season.
    David Coulthard arrived in Melbourne confident McLaren can challenge the big guns Ferrari and Williams when the lights go green at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.
    David Coulthard arrived in Melbourne on Tuesday (March 4), ready to drive for McLaren. He was greeted by fans on arrival and said he can't wait to get behind the wheel.
    "It's nice to be here, I'm excited for the start of the season and the journey down here doesn't take too long if you're looking forward to something. It's the journey home, if you don't go well, which is the problem".
    The Scot won in Melbourne back in 1997 and has twelve F1 victories to his credit. He finished fifth in the drivers standings in 2002.
    The Jaguar team showed off their new R4 car design on Tuesday (March 4).
    Team boss and racing car legend Sir Jackie Stewart was joined by Australian racing car driver Mark Webber and Brazilian youngster Antonio Pizzonia.
    The 26-year-old Webber performed well in Melbourne last year when he was driving for rival team Minardi. He said he's proud to be on the Jaguar team, but is realistic about what they can achieve.
    "I think it's very unlikely that we'll go out and win but our goal this year is to earn some more respect. It's been a tough few years and we've a great platform now to build on and earn a lot of respect. We've still got a long way to go. It's a very intense mid-field battle with some very strong teams and packages," he said.
    Jaguar boss, Sir Jackie Stewart said his team are in the race for the long haul and hope both young drivers will help Jaguar move towards the top of the Grand Prix board in a few years time.
    "The early indications are that the motor car is stiff in its body unit to a level that we believe will overcome many of the discrepancies that we experienced last year," Stewart told a news conference.
    He also said he was excited to have 22-year-old Brazilian, Antonio Pizzonia driving for Jaguar in his first Grand Prix race.
    Brazil has produced some legendary racing car drivers over the years. Pizzonia hopes to follow in their footsteps and says he's looking forward to making his country and family proud on Sunday (March 9).
    "I come from the Amazon. I am the only racing car driver from the Amazon and we don't even have a racing track over there. We have a very small carting track which they built in 1996," he said.
    In Japan, members of the BAR Honda Formula One racing team said they were optimistic about the upcoming season as drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Jenson Button met the press at a news conference on Monday (March 3) in Tokyo.
    Former champion Villeneuve faces a make-or-break season, where he needs to make an impact to either retain his seat or move up to a more successful team.
    "It was very difficult for us last year to say, 'please make a better engine' when the car was so bad. But at least this year we can say 'the car is good, we also need a good engine' so everything works well together. By the end of the testing, we did the last day in Barcelona, we were quite happy with it. We did a lot of laps without really any problem. But we have had a lot of problems in winter so there is a little bit of risk in the first race but at least we should be fighting at the front so that should be very exciting for everyone on the team, everyone at Honda and everybody here,"
    said the 30-year-old Canadian.
    BAR, now officially to be known as BAR rather than British American Racing, have so far won nothing and last season finished eighth overall.
    Villeneuve, one of the highest paid drivers in Formula One and the only champion other than Ferrari's Michael Schumacher still racing, may have to take a significant pay cut to stay on however. Villeneuve's manager has said he is set to leave at the end of the year although team boss David Richards has said the door was not closed to him remaining.
    Briton Jenson Button, the youngest driver to score F1 points, was equally optimistic about the racing season and his team.
    "You never know how good you are going to be against the other team or how well you are going to perform until the lights go out. But I think we are all pretty confident for the season as well as the coming race and I think hopefully we can perform well, we'll see," he said.
    Team boss David Richards expressed his confidence that thing can only get better in 2003.
    "I think everyone, from a team point of view, is feeling very very positive and optimistic about the situation. There is clearly an awful amount of work that needs to be done and as always, there is never enough testing that we have done to date and we would always prefer to have another couple of weeks before the first race but anyway, looking forward to next weekend, it's a very positive situation from a team point of view," he said.
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