Arrows will aim for fourth, says designer

New Arrows chief designer Sergio Rinland says the team should be aiming to finish in the top four of the World Championship in 2002, but admits he hasn't had time to make much of an impact on the design of its new A23 chassis

The Argentinian joined the Leafield-based team last month, and says he will have a limited effect on next year's Cosworth-powered challenger before concentrating on the 2003 car.

"I will have an influence for next season, but not as great as if I had been here from the beginning - and when I say beginning, I'm talking about May," he said. "That's when the thinking of a new car starts. So for the 2003 car, the A24, yes, I will be very much there from the start. Because I have already been involved in the last stages of the A23 development, I will be able to contribute to a much greater degree in the creation of the A24."

Rinland has set his sights on bringing Arrows up the Grand Prix grid to be best of the rest after the big three: Ferrari, McLaren and Williams.

"I would like to be fighting in the 'after top three' club," he said. "That is a realistic objective. Arrows are not a big team, though we are big as a company. We have a lot of facilities but we are still not big enough in terms of budget, and in terms of a lot of the other things that makes a team succeed, to actually say for certain that we're going to be fourth next year.

"But we have to remember that there is also Renault, Jaguar, BAR, Jordan and Sauber all aiming for that one position. It is not going to be an easy fight, but it is something that we have got to aim at. We will have a good engine, we will hopefully have good drivers, and that will give us the opportunity. Then it is down to us to grab it."