Formula One news

Column: Ready For Round Two

My first Formula One Grand Prix weekend is over. Unfortunately I couldn't finish the race in Melbourne because of gearbox problems. I lost second gear during the warm up lap, and first great a few laps later. That made it pretty much impossible to drive away from my pitstop. Looking on the positive side I did get some great experience and there are many more races to come.

I'm writing this column during my holiday at the Hayman Island in Australia. That doesn't mean I've lost contact with my team though. I'm on the phone with the engineers every day. We'll meet again at our hotel early this week and talk about improvements we've made to the car. The gearbox problem we had in Melbourne is solved, but at the moment we still don't know the cause of the problem.

The only advantage of not finishing a race is that you can start the next race with a new engine. We would probably have had to change the engine anyway because our old engine might struggle to last two races. We're still using the old Cosworth engine because the engine that Red Bull is using won't fit our current chassis. At Imola, when we launch our new 2005 chassis we will also have the same engine as Red Bull. Patrick will also get a new engine from the team for the Malaysian Grand Prix and although it'll cost him ten places on the grid it'll at least increase the chance of finishing the race.

My week in Malaysia should be a lot easier than in Melbourne. The media attention we got in Australia was enormous. In Kuala Lumpur we'll have more time to focus on our work. The race will be tough. It's the hottest F1 race on the calendar. I had a DTM race in Shanghai (China) last year, which was in extremely hot conditions so I know what to expect. On Friday we probably won't run many laps, maybe 15 or 20 at most to save the engine. Anyway, I am looking forward to the next race. - a new round with a new chance to do well!

more news

• 29 Nov.
  • Piquet: Campos drive would suit team
  • Massa and Schumacher triumph in karting race
  • Schumacher wins Saturday Challenge of the Stars
• 28 Nov.
  • Lola ready to enter Formula 1
  • Raikkonen close to Citroen WRC deal
  • Tung looking for 'useful' test
• 27 Nov.
  • Montreal seals Formula One contract
  • GPUpdate TV: Domenicali - high hopes for 2010
  • Jerez test: The cast
  • Wurz plays down USF1 link
  • Renault to test Baguette, Tung and Di Grassi
  • Alonso makes second visit to Ferrari
  • Force India confirms Sutil and Liuzzi
  • All new teams now FOTA members
  • Sauber buys team back from BMW
  • De la Rosa pushing for race drive
  • Ecclestone: I won't buy Donington
  • Haug becomes part of F1 in Schools
  • Volkswagen to provide F1 engines?
• 26 Nov.
  • Alguersuari: 2010 contract is signed
  • Conway and Ericsson to test for Mercedes
  • 4 driver options left for Lotus
  • 'F1 in need of Schumacher return' - Verstappen
• 25 Nov.
  • 'Fantastic opportunity' - Di Resta on Force India test
  • Recap: N.Technology court bid fails
  • BMW testers excited about Jerez
  • Brawn disappointed with Button drives, ponders Lauda
  • Piquet to drive in Massa kart race
  • Brawn aero chief wins award
  • Gillett disappointed with government position
  • Mercedes hopes to confirm line-up by Christmas
• 24 Nov.
  • Briatore verdict expected in January
  • Donington still hopeful over F1 race
  • Montreal race confirmation imminent
  • Massa names drivers for karting event
  • Campos car passes FIA safety tests
  • Strong test could seal drive, says Mallya
  • Force India to test di Resta and Hildebrand
  • Courts to hear Briatore case
  • Silverstone GP deal forthcoming

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