04/06/2004

Monza Test Round-Up

Dates: 1-4 June 2004
Location: Autodromo Nazionale di Monza Italy
Drivers: Olivier Panis (1-2) Ricardo Zonta (1-3) Ryan Briscoe (3-4)
Track Length: 5.793km

Ricardo Zonta
Total laps: 178
Best Lap Time: 1m21.789s
Chassis: TF104/05
"We spent most of the week working on tyres and aerodynamics for Indianapolis. We found some good tyre solutions for long runs although we still need to find a bit of qualifying performance. But my test ended abruptly on Thursday when I went off approaching the Parabolica due to a puncture caused when I picked up some debris on the right rear tyre. I was going along at top speed in top gear - about 330kmh - when I felt the problem at the rear and I hit the tyre barrier. I had a similar accident in the same place a few years ago and at that speed you never quite know what will happen. Thankfully I'm absolutely fine. The chassis survived intact too but the bodywork and suspension suffered a lot of damage. As the team had already begun travelling to Canada for next week's grand prix we didn't have enough parts to rebuild the car here so I missed the last day of the test."

Ryan Briscoe
Total laps: 193
Best Lap Time: 1m21.851s
Chassis: TF104/06
"It's been a good test overall. Thursday was a good day and we completed our programme of work on set-ups rear suspension and dampers. But it became a bit difficult to get consistent results in the afternoon because of high winds and dirty circuit conditions. Friday morning was excellent doing some brake testing and lots of long runs to look at the Indianapolis tyres - all with no problems on the car. In the afternoon we did some work on clutches and electronics. Monza is a great track to drive in an F1 car - you can feel the speed because it's one of the few remaining circuits with really long straights. But I had one strange incident when I hit a snake at one of the Lesmo corners. I didn't notice it at the time but my mechanics found what was left of it in my sidepod when I got back to the pits. I hit a bird at my last test in France so who knows what will be next..."

Olivier Panis
Total laps: 130
Best Lap Time: 1m22.317s
Chassis: TF104/06
"This was quite a positive test to prepare for the Canadian Grand Prix. We don't have anything really new on the car but it did not look too bad here at Monza running the Montreal downforce. The balance is good and I found something quite good on the brakes which are very important in Canada. It rained on Tuesday but we still completed our programme. Now we need to see where we are compared to everyone else. Here in Monza everyone was using different wing settings so it was difficult to compare times. We also put in a tyre test for Indianapolis which follows a week after Montreal. It's unusual to have two flyaway races in the space of a week but it shouldn't be a problem as there is only a short flight between the two cities."