Jos: "No launch control tomorrow"

Published on 28 April 2001 by Verstappen Info Page

From Barcelona Jos told us some more about the qualification. Just before his spin this afternoon the heavy use of the brakes made the temperature in the braking system rise and the pedal stroke became 'longer'. This changed the feeling of the pedal and that is what caused Jos to spin. As we mentioned earlier this problem was solved after the brakes were bled. Unfortunately Jos was not able to improve his time anymore.
Jos emphasises that despite his 17th place on the grid the team had made a lot of progress: 'We have not improved our positions but we did gain on our direct competitors Jaguar and Prost. This will have to be the first step. We have a new exhaust system and are improving constantly. We made some good progress since Imola.'

During qualifying Jos has not used traction control. If and how he will use it tomorrow has not been decided yet. 'I think the start will be very interesting. Many teams have tested starts today and quite a few engines stalled. I do not know what I will use, but I will not use launch control that is for sure. We will see during tomorrow's warm up.'
(Launch control is the approved systed with which an automatic start is possible. The driver has to step on the accelerator at the right moment and he will only have to go full throttle until he applies the brakes for the first corner.)