Jos off to Brazil
Published on 01 April 2003 by Huub Rothengatter
Just before Jos stepped on the plane to Brazil, we spoke with him. On his way to Schiphol Airport he talked about the next Grand Prix and looked back on the last few weeks.
How did your return to F1 go, what went well and what disappointed you?
"The reliability is better than I expected. Finish in the first 2 Grand Prix gives the team a positive boost. I am rather disappointed with the speed of the car. I hoped the PS03 would have been a bit more competitive. I was very positive at first but I think I overestimated it. Looking in hindesight this is understandable, I have been out of F1 for 1,5 years. Other teams kept working on their cars."
The surprising qualifying strategy in Melbourne, was that a one-off?
"According to the regulations we were not doing anything wrong. It could have been in our advantage if it had started raining. We were the only team that would have been able to switch to a rain setup. In Malaysia the weather forecast didn't give us enough confidence to do it again.
Do you expect to book progress in comparision to other teams?
"This will be very difficult, a gap of 1,5 seconds is hard to close. We need a lot of test miles to achieve that. Of course we have our test on the Grand Prix Friday but you can't compare that to the private testsessions. This Friday test is on a time contraint and we try to use that to the max by finding a good setup for that particular circuit, together with the free practice sessions."
In Malaysia you had powersteering. Justin didn't. What about this weekend?
"If my information is correct we will have the new powersteering in the cars, or at least one. I am driving with powersteering that is certain. It's heavier in slow and lighter in fast corners."
What is your opinion on Justin Wilson?
"Justin is a very nice guy and a great talent. We're good mates. He showed in a short time that he knows his stuff. He has proven his abilities in the past when he became F3000 Champion."
What do you expect this weekend?
"Again, if you think we can close the 1,5 second gap in this Grand Prix you're wrong. We have to cherish the positve things. This is mainly the reliability of the PS03 and the rest we will to improve on step by step. We will need all the time we have to find the right setup for this circuit. This is a job on itself, Interlagos is a very bumpy track."
When will the third test car be joining you on Fridays?
"That would be in Europe at the earliest, so not this weekend. Besides those tests on Friday are very important but the best progress is made during extensive test programmes. Nothing known about those though. At the moment we're doing our utmost. Everyone at Minardi is still very enthusiastic en optimistic."
