Nick Heidfeld and Timo Glock finished the Japanese Grand Prix 13th and 15th with the race start being the first time either of them had got a dry lap at the Suzuka track this year, and for Timo it was his first ever drive in the dry at the Japanese circuit.  Michael Schumacher stormed from pole to victory and was joined on the podium by his brother Ralf and Jenson Button. 

Nick Heidfeld said, “I got a good start and gained a position or two.  For the first part of the race I had quite a loose rear and we made some adjustments at the first pit stop, which certainly helped.   I had one or two small electronic issues, maybe something on the gearbox as on one of the pit stops I couldn’t get into neutral.  Also at one point suddenly the pit lane speed limiter was on while I was on the circuit and I lost a couple of seconds there.  Otherwise, I think in the circumstances, given that we did not have a lot of time to practice here, I’m happy with our starting set-up and what we achieved in the race.”

The super typhoon forecast to hit Suzuka on Saturday passed by the Japanese circuit after changing course overnight on Friday, however heavy rain throughout the day left the track very wet at the start of qualifying on Sunday morning.   The rain having stopped on Saturday afternoon meant the track dried gradually throughout the morning, giving an advantage to the drivers who went out late in the final qualifying session on dry weather tyres. 

Nick Heidfeld and Timo Glock went out 4th and 5th on intermediate wet tyres while the circuit was still damp and they qualified in 16th and 17th positions.

Day two of the Japanese Grand Prix has been postponed due to weather conditions.  Typhoon Ma-on is expected to hit Suzuka Saturday morning.  Predicted high winds and heavy rain have caused officials to close the circuit to Formula One personnel and spectators.

Timo Glock, Nick Heidfeld and Robert Doornbos finished 6th, 7th and 16th respectively in a rain-soaked free practice day at Suzuka.  James Robinson said, “That was one of the wettest practice sessions we have seen in F1 for a long time.  Perhaps qualifying at Magny Cours in 1999 was worse but today the rain was very heavy indeed.  We thought it might be driest at the start so we went out early in the session and, perhaps by luck, it turned out as we expected.  The drivers did a good job today although unfortunately for Robert he wasn’t out with his preferred settings when the track was at its best so he wasn’t able to maximise his and the car’s potential.”

“On a separate note, we have organised the race engineering group a little bit differently for this race to offer our younger engineers an opportunity to get involved in the direct operations and running of the cars. Oliver Knighton (test and third car engineer) is Timo’s race engineer this weekend and Peter Bonnington (data and assistant race engineer) ran the third car, driven by Robert Doornbos, today.  Dominic Harlow (race engineer, Giorgio Pantano and Timo Glock in Canada and China) is taking a more senior role over the operation.”

The forthcoming 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan are celebrated with the latest Message from Bahrain. The games open on 26 February 2005 and will be the first Special Olympics World Games hosted in Asia; expecting to draw 2,500 athletes, 650 coaches, and thousands of families, volunteers, spectators and journalists from every continent.   Special Olympics is an international organisation dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition. Special Olympics offers children and adults with intellectual disabilities year-round training and competition in 26 Olympic-type winter and summer sports. Children and adults who participate in Special Olympics develop improved physical fitness and motor skills, greater self-confidence and a more positive self-image.