Master and Commander missing from action



Formula One testing has started again ahead of the 2004 season which starts in Melbourne on March 4-7 – but Grand Prix racing’s own Master 
and Commander, Michael Schumacher, is not back in the cockpit.



The six-time World Champion is taking a full three-month break from his exertions, leaving his able lieutenants to do the preparatory work 
as Melbourne gears up to be F1’s first port of call.



Plain sailing for Ferrari



In Barcelona, Luca Badoer’s Ferrari has been the quickest car on the first couple of days, though Jenson Button in the BAR ‘concept car’ 
has also been on the crest of a wave.



Valencia may have been named as sailing’s hot spot for the next few years, but a rather faster conveyance – a Williams-BMW F1 car – has 
been in evidence this week.



First it was Juan Pablo Montoya, then Ralf Schumacher who headed the time-sheets in the Mediterranean port.



They may not have been playing lead roles to match Russell Crowe’s, but two young Aussies were also mentioned in dispatches as the testing 
ban came to an end.



Mark Webber’s Jaguar was running around seventh-fastest in Barcelona, while Ryan Briscoe was putting in some useful time at the wheel of 
his Toyota.



A week earlier Webber was very much the Master and Commander on dry land as he headed up the launch of the 2004 Foster’s Australian Grand 
Prix.



Buoyed by the praise being showered on him from all quarters of the F1 world, Webber said he was aiming for at least as good a year with 
Jaguar as he enjoyed in 2003.



“We set our bar very high in 2003 with the R4,” said Webber, “which was a very competitive and quick car, especially in qualifying.



“It was sometimes a little bit frustrating in race conditions that we couldn’t take that pace to the front guys as much as we would have 
liked to, but that all comes with experience and resources and knowledge of our package.



“So we are going to try and address some of those issues over the winter, in the next three or four months before we get into Melbourne.”



Changes in the wind



An audience-pleasing mock pit-stop at the event launch highlighted changes to the configuration of the Melbourne circuit that could have a 
dramatic effect on the 2004 race.



While pit lane speed limit rises from 80 to 100 km/h. the ‘kink’ in the pit lane entry road has also been ironed out, meaning cars will 
sacrifice less time on pit stops and may well be tempted into a three-stop strategy.



Other rule changes such as each car being limited to one single engine for an entire race weekend will also play their part in sorting out 
the 2004 line of battle.



Any driver who needs to have a fresh engine installed in his car faces a 10-place penalty on the grid.



Are you qualified'



Fans at the 2004 Foster’s Australian Grand Prix will also be the first to see a new-look Saturday qualifying system in action.



The 2003 timetable of one hour’s qualifying on each of Friday and Saturday is out.



In comes a new system with qualifying split into two parts – and just two minutes separating the sessions.



The first will see drivers go out with light fuel loads, while in the second they will use race loads and settings as was the case in 2003, 
so race and pit-stop strategy will be settled before they go out to qualify.



Friday also has a new look, with the teams who finished in fifth to 10th places overall last year allowed to run a third car in the two, 
one-hour practice sessions.



New car for the BMW Celebrity Challenge



The traditional Albert Park line-up of support races will begin with a brilliant BMW Celebrity Challenge featuring not only some big names 
but a bright new car – the BMW 318ti Sports Compact.



No fewer than 28 of the nimble new cars will fight it out round the Grand Prix circuit as they front the racing grid for the first time 
anywhere in the world.



The 318ti Sports Compact should prove a worthy successor to the MINI Cooper which has been such a crowd-pleaser on the FAGP bill for the 
last two years, and the racy BMW Z3 roadster, which also made its world racing debut right here in Melbourne.



100 of the best for the Netspace V8 Supercars



While the F1 fleet takes pride of place, a squadron of super-quick Aussie V8’s will also be competing for the crowd’s attention in a bigger 
and better format.



The Netspace V8 Supercars will include a 100-kilometre, 19-lap thriller on Saturday afternoon immediately after F1 qualifying.



“It gives us more time on a great track,” says three-time Bathurst champion and 2003 title contender Greg Murphy.



“And it will give the fans greater value and enjoyment – something to really get their teeth into.”



There will also be two other 10-lap V8 Supercar races on Friday afternoon and Sunday morning.



All hands on deck!



On top of all that, support races like the Michelin Carrera Cup, the return of Cleanevent Historic Touring Cars, Formula Ford, the 
Tattersall’s Historic Demonstration and the REV GP Kart challenge will complete the Albert Park on-track picture.



With a new ‘Long Bar’ in the General Admission Area, a series of improvements to the National Support Paddock and a merchandising 
superstore, there will be plenty for landlubbers and racing lovers to enjoy at the 2004 Foster’s Australian Grand Prix.



The world according to Formula One. Experience it first hand!



 
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