Malaysia 1999: Previews

[ Arrows | Benetton | BAR | Ferrari | Jordan | McLaren | Minardi | Sauber | Stewart | Prost | Williams | Bridgestone ]


Arrows [start]

Not present at this time


Benetton [start]

The first day was dedicated to learning about the new circuit in race set-up. The track was wet at the beginning of the morning session, but dried out quickly. In the morning Fisichella wasn't able to run on the dry track because of an engine problem.

Giancarlo Fisichella
"This was quite a difficult day as we needed to learn about the track to work on the set-up. I had an engine problem in the first session and we lost a lot of valuable time. The car is suffering from oversteer and some understeer."

Alexander Wurz
"The circuit is very nice but it is tricky and not easy to drive. The car lacks grip and is sliding a lot, it is especially nervous at the rear. I particularly liked the car in the damp conditions."

Pat Symonds : Technical Director
"It is always a challenge coming to a new circuit and seeing whether our simulations and predictions have been good. This is an extremely interesting circuit and in general I am happy with the progress we have made today. Unfortunately engine problems on Giancarlo's car lost him the whole of the dry part of the first session and this has set us back a little. However I think we have made substantial progress thanks to the good work done by Alexander and his team and the process will continue tomorrow."


British American Racing [start]

Seven minutes remained in the second hour of free practice today when Jacques Villeneuve emerged for a last lap of the brand-new Sepang International Circuit. One minute, 42.407 seconds later, British American Racing had the first "first" in the team's history, as the Canadian turned in the best time on the day in preparation for Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.

Conversely, Ricardo Zonta experienced a troublesome first day at the circuit, suffering several problems which prevented him from doing more than fifteen laps in total. In spite of this, and a clutch failure in the afternoon session, he finished 17th with a time of 1:44.968, lopping off 16 seconds from his morning

David Coulthard (McLaren) finished the day Racing Team in second place (1:42.519), with Sauber's Jean Alesi (1:42.701) in third. Michael Schumacher, driving at a Grand Prix for the first time since his accident at Silverstone in July, was the other story of the day, turning in the best time of, the morning session before settling in fifth (1:42.875), just behind his Ferrari teammate, Eddie Irvine, in the afternoon (142.725).

The morning session was run on a wet track, and conditions were drier in the afternoon. Sunday's race will be the first-ever on the 15-turn, 5.542 km (3.444 miles) facility that opened earlier this year.

Jacques Villeneuve
"The car was like a little bit of magic today, but we need to do the same on Saturday when we will have learned more about the limits of the circuit. We worked very hard on finding a good set-up this morning, and it turned out well this afternoon. The track is very nice to drive on, but it has some very demanding corners where it's difficult to find the braking points. The surface is also slicker than I expected it would be, but still fun. I've been in Malaysia for 10 days so I'm acclimatised, but it's still very hot."

Ricardo Zonta
"It's great that Jacques set the fastest time because it proves that our car can be very good here. It's disappointing for me though, because with all the stoppages, I was never able to get into a rhythm, or to go for quick times. This morning an exhaust valve went on the engine shortly after I went out, and this afternoon the clutch failed. So not good today, but I shall be chasing Jacques on Saturday."

Craig Pollock : Chairman & CEO, British American Racing
"It's nice to be on top at a circuit where we all started from the same level - none of the teams comes with any base information. Things have been coming together throughout the year and this is a reflection of our growing strength. The team has done, and continues to do, a fantastic job. I sympathise with Ricardo who was affected by many problems that prevented him from performing up to his usual level, today."

Jock Clear
"We shouldn't jump to conclusions because there's a long way to go yet, but ever since he came to Formula One, Jacques has taken pole position at all the new circuits--Melbourne in 1996 where he finished second, and Austria in 1997 where he won from pole position. It would be nice to keep the record consistent and we'll be working towards that on Saturday."


Ferrari [start]

Jean Todt
"This has been a different Friday to usual as we are at a new circuit. The two drivers worked on different programmes, both with the race in mind. In the break in the middle of the session, the exchange of views on the track between the two drivers allowed us to get a good balance on the cars for the second half of free practice. The team worked through its entire programme calmly and as planned. The car also handled well in the wet this morning. In qualifying tomorrow, we will discover the true potential of our car. The engineers and drivers were all very favourably impressed with the track."

Eddie Irvine
"This is a very good circuit. It is extremely difficult, but enjoyable because of that. There are several blind corners where you cannot see the exit and there are a lot of very long turns as well. Because there are so many corners and so many different types it is very difficult to balance the car. At the moment, it feels a bit loose at the rear, but that could be because the tyres are old. Tyre choice will be very difficult. Physically, the circuit is not very demanding and it is cooler in the car than out. The rain this morning didn't help, but we are in quite good shape. We just have to try and fine tune a few things tomorrow as there is still room for improvement."

Michael Schumacher
"I am glad to say I felt absolutely no pain and so I was able to concentrate fully on the driving. The car is fun to drive on this circuit. The track is quite challenging, but nice with some interesting corners, which is rather unusual for a brand new circuit. Even in the wet, the surface seems to provide plenty of grip. We worked on set up today but the car is not quite there yet. As we are not far off the pace and have enough time to improve, I am confident for tomorrow."


Jordan [start]

Benson and Hedges Jordan drivers Damon Hill and Heinz-Harald Frentzen enjoyed their first driver at the Sepang Circuit, both commenting at the end of the practice session that they found the track interesting and challenging. They finished the day 12th (Hill) and 14th (Frentzen).

Damon Hill
"The track is quite challenging and the fact that it is long makes it even more exciting because you can make a real difference to your lap time if you get it right. It is a very interesting track with lots of corners and you are always trying to pick your turn-in-points. The track is very wide, probably the widest track we race on, which means there are some overtaking opportunities, such as at the first corner and the last corner. The facilities and the track are nothing short of magnificent and I think everyone is very impressed."

Heinz-Harald Frentzen
"I like this circuit. It is a demanding track, especially in this heat. You sweat a lot! We had a very good session and the lap times improved as the track dried out. We are still working to find the right set up and there is a lot of homework still to do. It is hard to see how we stand compared with our nearest rivals, but I think we will be competitive."


McLaren [start]

Not present at this time


Minardi [start]

Luca Badoer
"I feel pretty satisfied and almost surprised with the time scored if we consider that this morning I didn't run and I clocked up my best time on old tyres. For tomorrow I, therefore, feel fairly optimistic. I hope to do a good job and to run longer in order to improve."

Marc Gene
"It has been a very tough day. In the first practice session, when the track was getting drier, my car was going well despite I spun to avoid a McLaren. In the afternoon we changed the engine and I thank the mechanics because they did a good job in a very short time; unfortunately, from that moment on, I tried hard to keep a balanced driving, but I felt there might be a problem to the rear wing; it stands to reason that my car was very unbalanced. Once the problem was detected, there was no more time to go out on the track. "


Sauber [start]

Jean Alesi
This morning I went on to the grass and damaged the undertray a little, the I spun again this afternoon. This is a good circuit, but we have work to do on the balance before qualifying tomorrow.

Pedro Diniz
The circuit is quite similar in character to Barcelona. It was quite tricky initially to find the right line, because it's pretty wide. I had a bit too much understeer this morning, then a spin because of too much oversteer this afternoon, following a set-up change. We changed the set-up again and it was better. Right at the end I tried some new tyres, and while there is still some work to do on the balance and I am sure things will be more difficult tomorrow, we know that the car is quite well suited to this track.

Peter Sauber
We have done a lot of good pre-race publicity work in Kuala Lumpur recently, we now have to prove our performance on the track as well. In our first experience on this wonderful track, we did 70 laps. I'm satisfied with the data that we accrued today and we will do everything to be thoroughly prepared for qualifying tomorrow.


Stewart [start]

Weather: Morning rain giving way to hot and humid conditions. (Ambient temperature 28 deg C, track temperature 30 deg C, humidity 80

Rubens Barrichello finished seventh in today's Free Practice for Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix. Johnny Herbert was 10th fastest.

Rubens Barrichello
Are you pleased with your day's work?
"I'm pleased with the way it went today considering we were all starting from scratch. We have a solid base from which to choose a direction for qualifying. We have a little more tinkering to do on set-up tomorrow to be in good shape for qualifying. Having experienced the circuit now, it's clear that tyre choice will be important for race strategy."
How are you coping with the weather conditions?
"It's very hot when you come back to the garage. Being a Brazilian I should be used to it but it's a combination of the heat and humidity. Johnny says he has never seen my face so red, but he should look in the mirror."

Johnny Herbert
What are your first impressions of the circuit?
"I like it. It's challenging, fast in places with a good mix of turns. Perhaps turn two is a bit slow but otherwise it's very demanding - just how we like it. It feels grippy in most places and there will be chances for overtaking."
What was the focus of your efforts today?
"We made a number of set-up changes and improved the car as the day went on. Coming here cold, as it were, we spent a lot of time learning the circuit characteristics to get a clearer idea of downforce and general set-up requirements."

Paul Stewart : Stewart-Ford Chief Operating Officer
"A pretty uneventful day without any dramas. We made good preparation in terms of deciding on the optimum set-up for the circuit. This brand new circuit has met with approval from both drivers. The track surface is very good and the course designer and builders should be congratulated on a job well done."

Tyrone Johnson : Technical Manager Ford Racing Research and Vehicle Technology
"The work we did at last week's Barcelona test combined with the better and more consistent driveability of the Series 3 engine have proved beneficial at this unknown Sepang circuit - helping both drivers to concentrate on setting up the cars and getting to know this new circuit. We will be using Series 3 engines both in qualifying and for the race."


Prost [start]

Olivier Panis
"I am very happy with the discovery of this new circuit. It is really nice and above all it is safe apart from the corner where I went off where the run-off area is not big enough ! Overall, I am satisfied with this first day of practice even if I have had an incredible problem - the two front brake discs broke under braking.

The mechanics did a great job to get me out again at the end of the session, as I had damaged the car severely. I lost some time and that is a pity when you don't know the circuit, but I am confident, as from my opening laps I felt good."

Jarno Trulli
"I found this new Sepang circuit well-designed, very big, different to other tracks, very technical, even if we still haven't found good grip because of the dusty surface. Only one negative point : the run-off areas are not sufficiently large. We have worked well to find a good balance, but we still haven't had the time to try all the set-ups."

Alain Prost
"Olivier's 'off' was something exceptionally rare. I have never seen that before in Formula One : the two front brake discs breaking simultaneously. This incident penalised both of our drivers because we asked Jarno to come in straightaway to check his car. It was important to control what happened ; to analyse and to look for the cause of the problem. We still have some things to do to be certain about this. On a circuit that the drivers did not know, it was important to do a lot of laps and we shall have to make up for this tomorrow morning. This incident aside, the first day has been quite positive, the drivers like the circuit and the weather could do anything."


Williams [start]

The Williams drivers Alex Zanardi and Ralf Schumacher were 20th and 18th in the first free practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Alessandro Zanardi
Like every other driver, both Alex and Ralf mostly spent today's session studying the track on which they were running for the very first time.
"I must say that, technically speaking, this circuit is beautiful and very difficult at the same time. I think that we are ripping away stones into the asphalt, therefore the track is really dirty off-line, probably because it's the first time that some cars are running on it for such a long time. Being so wide, it invites you to overtake, but the line is one and just one."

Ralf Schumacher
In the morning session, a hydraulic problem prevented Ralf from completing more than six laps.
"This circuit is very nice and it's also very challenging and difficult. If you turn too early or too late you don't make it, it's as simple as that! Furthermore, this track has very quick parts and slow parts and therefore it's very difficult to find a good set up. We will have to work quite hard in order to find the right compromise for getting around both these track conditions."

James Robinson : Senior Operations Engineer
"Obviously today was the first day on a brand new track so we are looking at the race homework, especially on the side of brakes and tyres. At present we have a number of problems to solve this evening in preparation for tomorrow."


Bridgestone [start]

Not present at this time

Malaysian Grand Prix Weekend