I was a little bit busy today, and I wasn't able to upload the highlight video, sorry for that, but tomorrow it will be available. On the other hand I uploaded an interview with Nick Wirth. Check it out! And see you tomorrow!
One more not completed race unfortunately. It was raining at Albert Park and Virgin cars started the race from the pitlane...so everyone expected a chaotic race - and finally it was. At almost halfway Lucas had to return to the box, he was really angry which is absolutely understandable. He was racing well and then this happens. And later Timo had problems too. Australian GP photos The car is unreliable and the team has to rebuild it because of the small fuel tank...and this weekend was not good for us again, but I believe things will get better. Keep on working! We(fans) are with you!
Lucas's report: "The early part of the race was okay for me. The car was behaving quite well at the beginning. Unfortunately, we didn't time the strategy well to change to slicks but otherwise things were going okay. So it's a shame that we were hit by another problem - a hydraulic problem - and we had to retire after 26 laps. For sure we will find the problem, fix it and be better for the next race. These are small steps that maybe other people can't see but they are good steps for us. We are working very hard to improve our situation and I have confidence that we will." Race Results
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Unfortunately the team has a lot of problems(still), but hopefully everything will work well tomorrow on the race! Lucas will start from P21 - because Timo got a penalty. Photos are available here Lucas said: “Free practice was okay for me and the car was feeling quite good. I was certainly feeling some improvement. I didn’t manage to maximise the performance of the car in qualifying as I made a mistake on my quick lap. I’m looking forward to the race as the car is behaving quite well with heavy fuel.”
The expected rain arrived to Melbourne on the 2nd practice. On the 1st practice Lucas finished P21, and he done 25 laps which is quite good. The afternoon he wasn't able to set a timed lap unfortunately...they had telemetry box problem. Goooood Luckkk for tomorrow! Lucas: “Today was a mix of a very good session in the morning and some problems in the afternoon. In P1 I was just looking to get the first feeling of the track and everything went as planned. This afternoon was a bit more troubled and as soon as we went out we experienced some problems with the telemetry box and I lost the rest of the second session. Not the perfect situation to go into a race weekend at a circuit that is new to me, but we will keep our heads up, fix the problem and go for it tomorrow.”
And one good news for today! The FIA has given Virgin permission to increase the size of their fuel tank on reliability grounds after the new team discovered it may not be big enough to get them to the end of the race at some events.
New photos in the gallery! Follow us on Twitter for live commentary, or to get the latest news sooner then I post here.
Today's sum up from the team and article about the fuel tanks More details
Lucas and Andy(Soucek) went surfing today, he really enjoyed it: “We drivers have to take the rough with the smooth,” said a super-relaxed Lucas, who slept all the way back to the city. “Starting from this evening, the weekend gets a lot tougher, but it’s good to chill out and clear the mind so we can focus on the racing from now on. I love surfing back home in Brazil - it’s a great way to relax and it’s tough physically, so it’s good preparation for driving the car. Most importantly, we made it back to shore, which was the main concern of my race engineer!” And I added some photos to the gallery today. Australia photos
Lucas about racing in Australia: “I’ve been to Australia a few times but I’ve never raced at Albert Park before, so it will be an interesting weekend! Basically, I can’t wait to get back in the car again and experience the track. Australia as a destination actually reminds me of Brazil - the weather is nice and the people are warm and friendly. I’ve been out here for a few days now, acclimatising to the time difference and ensuring I’m relaxed for the weekend ahead. As for the relaxation part, I went surfing with Championship winning surfer Damien Hardman along the Great Ocean Road on Wednesday. I’m a big surfer – and pretty good, if I say so myself – so it was fun to head out of the city to catch a few waves before we get down to the serious stuff.
“We’re hoping to make a few waves on track this weekend also. We obviously want to build on what we saw in qualifying and reach the finish. I was really pleased with my debut qualifying and race start but obviously I want to carry that through to the race now. I’m looking forward to it.”
