FORMULA ONE: Honda F1 Free Practice from Indianapolis
22 September 2000
FIA Formula 1 World Championship - Round 15 US Grand Prix, Indianapolis - Friday Free Practice HONDA POWERS TO INDIANAPOLIS AS TEAMS PREPARE FOR US GP Friday 22 September 2000 Lucky Strike Reynard BAR Honda had its first experiences of the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway this afternoon. Two one-hour sessions of free practice allowed drivers and teams to familiarise themselves with the unique demands of the brand new Grand Prix circuit at the 'Racing Capital of the World' in advance of Sunday's US GP. As expected, the drivers spent more than 20 seconds of the 2.6 mile lap with the throttle fully open, the F1 cars experiencing the effects of the oval banking for the very first time. With speeds reaching in excess of 350km/h down the main straight, engine performance was critical and Honda's RA000E engine powered the drivers to an early competitive showing, Jacques Villeneuve finishing the first session in fifth place. The team continued to work towards an effective race set-up in the second period, running with heavy fuel loads to optimise the settings for Sunday's event. The circuit offers a difficult challenge for the engineers, matching the demands of the high-speed straights, as experienced in Monza and Hockenheim, with those of the slow, tight corners that are reminiscent of Monaco and Hungary. Jacques Villeneuve Position: 10th 1min 16.147sec "It's a very difficult track. The infield is very slow and intricate, so it's difficult to get a good lap. The last two corners through to turn one is just flat out all the way; the rest of the track is just trying to get the car to flow through the corners. We thought it might be a low downforce track, but it is getting a higher and higher and I think everyone has been adding wing throughout the day. I have also been surprised how physical the circuit is. Apart from the straight, you're working throughout the rest of the lap, so the race itself will be quite demanding." Ricardo Zonta Position: 15th 1min 16.656sec "I have struggled with understeer all day, so I am losing a lot of time around the back of the circuit. For me, the in-field is too slow for a Formula One race and the last two corners are just flat, so there is not that much you can do to make up the time. I hope we can make some improvements to the balance for tomorrow." Takefumi Hosaka - Managing Director, Honda R&D "This is the most demanding circuit we have visited all season from an engine perspective. The throttle is in the fully open position for longer than at any other circuit, which offers us a good challenge. However, we are not satisfied with our overall performance; we thought we would have been quicker. The infield section caused the most problem, so we tried different set-ups, but we have more work to do before tomorrow." Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli made confident starts to their American adventure with Jordan Mugen-Honda, finishing the day in fifth and seventh places respectively.