Pat Symonds, Technical Director of the Mild Seven Benetton Playlife team comments on what is to be expected this coming weekend:

Preperations: "Since the first running of the car on January 18th the whole team have been extremely busy doing our normal pre-season testing in a compressed timescale. This year we have had a month less to develop the car than we have had in previous years. This has put pressure on the whole team, particularly the mechanics and the production department. Nevertheless, we have sent the cars off to Australia in good shape having completed 4127 kilometres in 14 days testing and having completed nearly two race distances this week at Silverstone. We feel that from the long list of development topics that we had when we first ran the car that we have achieved most of our objectives."

The Drivers: "In addition to all the preparations on the technical side, the drivers have been through a very intense physical training programme over the winter. They therefore approach the season at a peak of fitness and with a strong mental attitude."

The Race: "The first race is often as much about reliability as outright performance and it is a stage when every team is still learning about their cars, identifying the problems and seeking to exploit performance. In order to achieve a good result in Melbourne you have to have had a very good test programme and that is something I feel we have achieved over the winter."

The Circuit: "Melbourne is an interesting circuit with a good mix of fast and slow corners that makes it quite challenging. It is quite hard on the brakes and has few overtaking possibilities. It will be the first time we have run the car in hot conditions, we have done all our testing in a rather cold European climate, and this may present some new problems. Nevertheless our test results indicate that it is the type of circuit that shouldn't present us with any particular problems and we look forward to a competitive race."