Anderson Confident Jaguar is Closing on Top Teams
Friday March 3rd, 2000
After the Jaguar's final two-day test at Silverstone this week, designer Gary Anderson shrugged off any problems the team may have had in pre-season testing and looked forward to racing for the first time as Jaguar.
Q: You've finished your pre-season testing and you're off to Melbourne. Where do you think you stand now?
Anderson: "It's really difficult to know this season. I don't think we've got any dramatic problems. We’ve concentrated on the aerodynamic and mechanical sides of the car in order to make it efficient, and we think it’s pretty good. We’ve had problems in testing, but nothing insurmountable and no more than anyone else.”
Q: Do you expect to be up there behind the Ferraris and McLarens?
Anderson: "I would hope so. From what we hear I think Ferrari will be strong. McLaren don't seem to have gone forward very far, unless they're sandbagging a bit, but they're still strong. Then it’s Jordan and us, and then the rest. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mika Salo and Sauber doing a good job. It’s difficult to say, but we've been as good as most people on our runs with similar amounts of fuel."
Q: Until Jaguar Racing has its own facility, you’ve been using a wind tunnel in California, USA, and do not have full-time access like other teams. How frustrating is that when you want to try new things you've come up with in the design office?
Anderson: "It's always going to be a problem until we've got a full-time wind tunnel. We have to wait a couple of weeks before we go and do things. But we can't do anything about it, so there's no point in getting frustrated!"
Q: Personally, how excited are you about the start of this season?
Anderson: "Jaguar's a new team and it's great to be involved in it from the beginning and try to build it up. It does need a lot of building, because it's going from being a small privateer team to a major manufacturer. So it's very different deal from before. It’s still early days, but we’ll be in Melbourne with three cars, lots of spare bits and ready for the fight.”