USA Grand Prix 2000
Indianapolis, 22nd-24th September

Race

Jaguar Racing Press Release, 24th September 2000: Eddie Irvine and Johnny Herbert finished today’s United States Grand Prix in seventh and eleventh positions respectively. A disappointing result for the Jaguar Racing team after Johnny Herbert looked to be in a position to take his first world championship points of the year after a charge at the beginning of the race which saw him overtake, amongst others, the Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello and the BAR of Jacques Villeneuve. The decision for Herbert to start the race on grooved tyres proved to be a good one but his luck ran out when he clipped a wheel gun coming in for his pitstop, damaging his front wing which necessitated a nose change. Irvine began the race on wet tyres and came in for dry tyres on lap seven. He then drove a solid race to finish just short of a point.

Johnny's comments:

"The conditions played into my hands at the beginning of the race as I decided to start on grooved tyres which gave me an advantage, but then turned against me in my pitstop! I hit a puddle in the pitlane which knocked me into the path of a wheel gun and damaged my front wing. We had the strategy and we had the pace but we just didn’t have the luck. The early stages were great fun as it was good old-fashioned racing and it was a real pleasure to pass a Ferrari. It’s annoying when everything is going so well that such a tiny mistake can cause so much time to be lost. Having said that I’ve enjoyed my first race at Indianapolis and can't wait to come back here next year for the 500!"

Eddie's comments: 

“This was a much better result than I expected considering I qualified in 17th position. We’ve had a couple of seventh place finishes as a team now which leaves a bit of an empty feeling - one place away from the points. I was able to run at a good pace during the race, better than our qualifying pace, which probably suggests that the tyres were not giving us a clear picture on set-up during practice. The car developed a bit of understeer on the second set of tyres which was the difference between seventh place and a Championship point. I thought the way we responded as a team after a difficult first two days deserved a point.”

Gary Anderson, Technical Director Jaguar Racing: 

“It was a pleasing end to the weekend after a troubled start. We were desperately unlucky with Johnny. We decided to start him on grooved tyres which worked in our favour when it stayed dry but unfortunately the car slid a little under braking on the entry to the pit box, hit a wheel gun and damaged the nose. Changing the front wing cost him 20 seconds and the chance of a solid points finish after a very strong drive, in the early stages of the race he was the second fastest car on the track. Eddie drove a good race but ended one place shy of the points. It was an exciting race to be part of and a great start to Formula One’s return to the United States. Judging by the crowd involvement, they enjoyed the show.”

Race results from AtlasF1:

1. M.Schumacher Ferrari 1H36:30.883 
2. Barrichello Ferrari + 12.118 
3. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda + 17.368 
4. Villeneuve BAR Honda + 17.935 
5. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes + 28.813 
6. Zonta BAR Honda + 51.694 
7. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth + 1:11.105 
8. Diniz Sauber Petronas + 1 Lap 
9. Heidfeld Prost Peugeot + 1 Lap 
10. Wurz Benetton Playlife + 1 Lap 
11. Herbert Jaguar Cosworth + 1 Lap 
12. Gene Minardi Fondmetal + 1 Lap 

Qualifying

Jaguar Racing Press Release, 23rd September 2000: Eddie Irvine and Johnny Herbert will start tomorrow's inaugural United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis in 17th and 19th places on the grid respectively after a disappointing qualifying session today..

Johnny's comments:

"The bottom line is that we’re just not quick enough. It’s frustrating for the team as we would have liked to put in a good showing here but we couldn’t get the car to do what we wanted. It’s hard to pinpoint the problem areas as we’re struggling everywhere for grip. I made a mistake on my best lap which cost me about three tenths and I caught yellow flags on my last run. We tried several aero changes but we never really got the balance right - the car was loose at the rear. Eddie and I are close together but at the wrong end of the grid. I guess if we were to start the race in the same direction as the Indy 500, the opposite direction to what we run, we’d be in much better shape!"

Eddie's comments: 

"Today was very frustrating - I just couldn’t seem to find any more time in the car. We played with the wing settings from the first run to the second which felt a lot better but I was held up by another car on my flying lap. On the last run I made a mistake just before the entry to the last corner which cost me a couple of tenths. I guess we put the last two days down to yet another stage in our learning experience. What we are building as a team will take time, but we have to ensure that what we take away from each race weekend like this, we put to good use in the future."

Gary Anderson, Technical Director Jaguar Racing: 

"We just haven’t been able to get on top of things all weekend. We have been hurt badly by a lack of grip in the infield section. We've tried a number of set-up changes which have not given us any significant improvement. Aerodynamically there is a tricky balance to be found to cater for the high speed versus the low speed sections of the circuit. We’ve been grappling with handling difficulties since Friday morning. All we can look forward to is a wet race tomorrow and a lot of activity at the first corner. We were certainly hoping to put on a much better show than we have."

Times from AtlasF1:

1. M.Schumacher Ferrari 1:14.266 203.350 km/h 
2. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1:14.392 + 0.126 
3. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1:14.428 + 0.162 
4. Barrichello Ferrari 1:14.600 + 0.334 
5. Trulli Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:15.006 + 0.740 
6. Button Williams BMW 1:15.017 + 0.751 
7. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:15.067 + 0.801 
8. Villeneuve BAR Honda 1:15.317 + 1.051 
9. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:15.418 + 1.152 
10. R.Schumacher Williams BMW 1:15.484 + 1.218 
11. Wurz Benetton Playlife 1:15.762 + 1.496 
12. Zonta BAR Honda 1:15.784 + 1.518 
13. Verstappen Arrows Supertec 1:15.808 + 1.542 
14. Salo Sauber Petronas 1:15.881 + 1.615 
15. Fisichella Benetton Playlife 1:15.907 + 1.641 
16. Heidfeld Prost Peugeot 1:16.060 + 1.794 
17. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth 1:16.098 + 1.832 
18. de la Rosa Arrows Supertec 1:16.143 + 1.877 
19. Herbert Jaguar Cosworth 1:16.225 + 1.959 
20. Alesi Prost Peugeot 1:16.471 + 2.205 
21. Mazzacane Minardi Fondmetal 1:16.809 + 2.543 
22. Gene Minardi Fondmetal 1:17.161 + 2.895

Friday Practice

Jaguar Racing Press Release, 22nd September 2000: After a nine-year absence, Formula One returned to the United States today at Indianapolis. The Jaguar Racing cars of Johnny Herbert and Eddie Irvine were the first to complete a full lap of the brand flew custom-built track which features the longest straight on the Formula One calendar and something new to modern day F1 ... a banked corner. At the end of today’s two one-hour free practice sessions, Eddie Irvine and Johnny Herbert were in 12th and 17th positions respectively.

Johnny's comments:

“I like this new circuit. There’s a section in the infield that’s a little too tight but the rest is good, just a bit slippery at the moment. It’s very interesting going onto the banking on the last turn which is flat even on the out lap! Today we’ve been working on set-up which is a tough one here as the more speed you can gain on the straight, the more you lose in the infield and vice versa so it’s going to be a real compromise. We’re not sure yet what happened at the end, we’ll have to go and look at the data but I guess I made a little bit of history by being the first car to complete a full lap of the circuit and the first to hit the wall!"

Eddie's comments: 

"Today was like the first day at school for everyone - new circuit, new lines. The first lesson was to learn more about the car’s suitability for the high speed and low speed mix of the circuit layout. We started off with too much oversteer, made quite a few set-up tweaks, but then lost our way a bit. There’s clearly a fine line where balance is concerned. The high speed corners are what we would expect at a place like Spa, although the banking is a new experience. The infield is very tight - that’s where your lap time will be determined. Overall impression - tight and tricky in places but a lot of fun."

Gary Anderson, Technical Director Jaguar Racing: 

"It’s nice to be back in the USA. The circuit layout is challenging, the facilities are excellent, everyone involved in this project has done a very good job. A fully-packed grandstand on the start-finish straight on race day will create a fantastic atmosphere. Let’s hope we can put on a good show. Like everybody else, we concentrated most of our efforts today on evaluating race wing levels and race balance while also learning the track. Because the infield is so tight there will be some compromise on set-up to cope with the contrast of high and low speed sections. Tomorrow we will shift the focus to producing lap times in readiness for qualifying."

Combined practice lap times:

1. David Coulthard, McLaren-Mercedes - 1:14.561
2. Mika Hakkinen, McLaren-Mercedes - 1:14.712
3. Michael Schumacher, Ferrari - 1:14.927
4. Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari - 1:15.144
5. Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Jordan-Mugen - 1:15.226
6. Ralf Schumacher, Williams-BMW - 1:15.249
7. Jarno Trulli, Jordan-Mugen - 1:15.646
8. Jenson Button, Williams-BMW - 1:15.741
9. Marc Gene, Minardi-Fondmetal - 1:15.806
10. Jacques Villeneuve, BAR-Honda - 1:16.147
11. Alex Wurz, Benetton-Playlife - 1:16.345
12. Eddie Irvine, Jaguar - 1:16.546
13. Jos Verstappen, Arrows-Supertec - 1:16.572
14. Nick Heidfeld, Prost-Peugeot - 1:16.626
15. Ricardo Zonta, BAR-Honda - 1:16.656
16. Mika Salo, Sauber-Petronas - 1:16.660
17. Johnny Herbert, Jaguar - 1:16.670
18. Pedro de la Rosa, Arrows-Supertec - 1:16.787
19. Pedro Diniz, Sauber-Petronas - 1:16.838
20. Gaston Mazzacane, Minardi-Fondmetal - 1:16.902
21. Giancarlo Fisichella, Benetton-Playlife - 1:17.053
22. Jean Alesi, Prost-Peugeot - 1:18.213

Race preview

Jaguar Racing Press Release, 15th September 2000

Gentlemen...start your engines please! Formula One is returning to the United States for the first time since 1991. A capacity crowd is expected at the Brickyard on race day which should make for an electric atmosphere. Over 20,000 hotel rooms in Indianapolis have been booked up for the weekend as the crowds flock in for the inaugural United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis.

Unique to Indianapolis is banking, a new experience for many of the F1 drivers. They will also have to contend with the line of bricks (embedded in the track but not totally so) along the start line which is all that’s left of the 3.2million bricks that used to make up the Indy circuit. In today’s low to the ground F1 cars they will certainly know when they are crossing the line!

Utilising half of the Indianapolis Superspeedway, the Formula One circuit is brand new and none of the teams have been able to test there prior to the race. The Jaguar Racing team ran its cars at Silverstone in preparation for this event with Luciano Burti at the wheel of the R1 for the fist time since it was announced he would partner Eddie Irvine next year.

The United States Grand Prix promises to be an event to remember as Jaguar Racing’s Technical Director Gary Anderson explains...

"Indy is the biggest motor racing spectacle in the world and it’s a real privilege to be able to race there, it’s been a long long time since we’ve had an F1 race in America and we’ve never raced on an oval before so it’s going to be a big challenge. The hardest part is going to be the straight as it’s 1.8kms at full throttle. The longest straights we race on in Europe are up to 1.2kms so this is going to be very high speed. It’s new for us all, a fresh start for everyone so we’ll see who can get on and do the job!

Johnny Herbert is one of only three current F1 drivers who has raced in the USA before. He finished 5th in the 1989 race in Phoenix, Arizona....

"It’s really great that F1 is returning to the USA at Indianapolis, the home of the Indy 500 which is race I want to compete in in the future. I think it’s going to be a really challenging circuit as, with such a long straight, we won’t be able to run much wing for the infield section. I’m looking forward to the challenge of the banking and can’t wait to get out there and give it a go!"

Eddie Irvine hasn’t raced in America before and can’t wait to get onto the Indy track...

"I am really looking forward to this Weekend’s race, it’s always good to go to a new venue and Indianapolis looks particularly interesting. Technically, it will throw up a few challenges we haven’t seen before in F1. That main straight seems to go on for ever and the banking should be interesting to say the least! The circuit will require a very different set-up to anything we have used elsewhere and tyres will play a very important role. The Americans certainly know a thing or two about putting on a great show and it will be up to us to give them a weekend that makes the spectators want to come back next year."

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Last updated 24th September 2000