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27-jul-2001
Friday Practice - German Grand Prix 2001 Season Benson and Hedges Jordan Honda made a cautious start to the weekend, Jarno Trulli and Ricardo Zonta setting ninth and 13th fastest times at the end of today's two 60-minute practice sessions at Hockenheim.
'Today we worked on the race set-up,' said Trulli. 'We were looking for a good balance for Sunday and trying the two different types of tyres. In the second session I had a slight problem with the brakes, otherwise everything was fine.'
'I was very easy on the brakes this morning because we thought there might be the potential for a small problem there,' said Zonta. 'So, when I tried a new set of tyres later in the morning session, I found I was braking too early. The grip was very good and my second lap was faster, so obviously I feel I can improve even more. We made some changes to the car before running the next set of new tyres. We tried some more changes and I learned a lot about the set-up. It's been a good day because we made progress in the end and I'm very happy to be back in the car. Thirteenth today is not so good but, then again, it's not so important today even though we could have done a bit better.'
Both hour-long sessions were run in dry, sunny conditions with the ambient temperature reaching 30 degrees C.
'As usual, we were concentrating on race set-up with a heavy fuel load and running back-to-back tests with the hard and the soft tyres,' said Tim Holloway, Head of Engineering. 'The conditions were very hot today and the race is likely to be run in these temperatures, so it was important to get as much information as we could. We don't test beforehand at Hockenheim.
'It's the same for everyone, of course, but the tyres and brakes will be crucial for this race. A brake problem in the second session cost Jarno some time but, apart from that, everything was okay and I think we know the direction we need to go. That said, we need a bit more time tomorrow to confirm our findings because there isn't a lot to choose between the different types of tyre.'
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Despite a power steering failure on his Jaguar at one stage, Eddie Irvine was fastest, ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams and the McLaren of Mika Hakkinen. Both McLaren drivers were struggling to find a good balance on their cars while running the low-downforce set-up necessary for the high-speed Hockenheim circuit. The Ferraris of Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher were fourth and fifth. Ralf Schumacher, 10th quickest, lost almost an hour after spinning into the gravel a few minutes into the second session.
Jordan Grand Prix
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