24/09/2004

Grand Prix of China - Free Practice Round-Up

Ricardo Zonta (Car 16 Chassis TF104/10B)
First Session Classification:10th 16 laps completed
Lap Time:1m36.970s (+1.601s)
Second Session Classification:9th 23 laps completed
Lap Time:1m34.868s (+1.579s)
"We did a very good job today. China is a new race for Formula 1 so we had to spend some time in the first session learning the technicalities of the Shanghai circuit. The car also looks quite encouraging here and we enjoyed a trouble-free day. We did well to set the car up and to put everything together over one lap. In terms of setting up the car we have had to find a compromise because we have a long straight as well as slower sections but I think we have found the best solution for this."

Olivier Panis (Car 17 Chassis TF104/09B)
First Session Classification:13th 14 laps completed
Lap Time:1m37.191s (+1.822s)
Second Session Classification:10th 25 laps completed
Lap Time:1m34.870s (+1.581s)
"What we did today is highly promising for the rest of the weekend. We completed our standard Friday work of evaluating tyre compounds and the Michelins look consistent and competitive which is important for this new track. We still have some work to do but I am still in a positive frame of mind. The circuit is fantastic really. It is quite complicated especially the long first corner. It took some time to find the best line and to be precise all the way through there. Everyone has done a fabulous job on this circuit and I am pleased to be here."

Ryan Briscoe (Car 38 Chassis TF104/11B)
First Session Classification:5th 21 laps completed
Lap Time:1m36.394s (+1.025s)
Second Session Classification:11th 29 laps completed
Lap Time:1m34.881s (+1.592s)
"That was a good opening day for us. We completed a lot of laps which is especially critical at a new track in order to gather data. It is a very interesting circuit and our TF104B car seems to be working very well. In the first session I was fairly comfortable with the circuit early on and I was able to get straight on with our usual tyre programme. I had a lot of fun in both practice sessions and we appear to be in good shape for the weekend."

Mike Gascoyne - Technical Director Chassis
"A good job from the whole team meant that we could work through our programme with no trouble. Of course Friday means we are focused on Michelin tyre evaluation and we can clearly see from today's running which compound is the best for us this weekend. Ricardo Olivier and Ryan are separated by just over one-hundreth-of-a-second and generally I think we are more competitive than we expected to be at this track. We have to ensure this trend continues for the remainder of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend."