Formula One news

Jaguar has addressed Australian reliability woe

Jaguar Racing suffered a gearbox problem during the Australian Grand Prix which cost driver Mark Webber the chance to score some championship points. While team mate Christian Klien suffered a hydraulic problem in qualifying, the team is confident it has cured both faults in time for this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.

Mark Gillan, head of vehicle performance

"I am very pleased with the progress that we have made on the R5 in comparison to where we were last year with the R4," said Dr Mark Gillan - Head of Vehicle Performance at Jaguar Racing. "We were two seconds a lap faster around Albert Park last weekend and to have made this sort of step forward is a reflection of the hard work and effort of all of those at Jaguar Racing as well as Cosworth Racing and Pi Research. The R5 is working very well with the tyres that Michelin is providing and to have Bjorn working on these during the Friday Practice sessions is another improvement for us. Although we suffered a hydraulic failure on Christian's car last weekend and a gearbox issue with Mark we have focused on these two areas over the last week and we believe that we now understand the reasons behind these and have taken action to prevent the same happening again. It is frustrating to say the least when we have completed over 6000km of testing to have not discovered these earlier however, how can you look for a problem when you don't know it exists in the first place. I certainly go to Sepang, upbeat and confident that we have a competitive car in the R5 and two drivers, both of which are capable of scoring points when the opportunity arises."

Klien talks to Pitchforth

Team Managing Director David Pitchforth added, "We will be looking to have two cars cross the finishing line next weekend and I strongly believe that with reliability on our side there is nothing stopping us from scoring points. At the Sepang circuit in 2003 we discovered that our fuel pump did not work as well in the high temperatures as it should have done so we have been doing a lot of testing with hot fuel. Mark's pace at Albert Park was evident and although we do not have any new parts on the car for this weekend we have a good competitive package and one that all three of our drivers enjoy driving. Our drivers are all on a training camp this week as they prepare themselves for the hot temperatures ahead. We even had Christian out in Langkawi over the winter period so we are doing everything we can to give them the best possible start to the season. I am really happy with the progress that our two new drivers are making, their commitment to the team and their respect and understanding for what we are trying to achieve is commendable. Mark as always is striving to extract the most from the R5 and I am hoping to see him continue to qualify as high on the grid as he did in Melbourne, we can't ask for more."

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