Australia preview quotes: Spyker

"The car is reliable and the balance is getting better all the time; now we understand the performance of the tyres more, we can really concentrate on getting a good set-up. It's not going to be an easy start to the year - we will have to push to get to the other teams, but that's what we're in Formula One to do. We've got to push ourselves to do the best we can."

Adrian Sutil: "Melbourne will be my first-ever Grand Prix, so there is certainly some excitement and maybe a few nerves - but that's good, at least the adrenaline is going! Over the winter testing period I've been trying hard to get as much mileage as possible so I will be as prepared as I can be for my first race.

"I've tried to learn from my engineers and understand the car; I want to finish the race and build on a solid performance in future Grands Prix."

Colin Kolles, team principal and managing director: "Seeing a Spyker in the new livery on the grid in Melbourne will make me very proud. In the six months since Spyker came on board, we have signed a brand new engine supplier, one of the most accomplished technical personnel in the paddock and have doubled our aerodynamic resources.

"The partnership is already working very well; running 6,000km straightaway without issues in testing is a major accomplishment. We hope this reliability will continue into Australia and we can run with the rest of the competition."

Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer: "After a long winter of testing and development, it's always exciting to be get out again at the first Grand Prix of the season. From our point of view, testing went very well, the car is reliable and did not demonstrate any mechanical problems, the cooling is well under control and we really can be optimistic about the coming year.

"Performance-wise, we've always said we were going to be at the back of the grid, but we feel we'll be pretty close to the group in front of us now. For Malaysia too we're expecting a significant aero update, so for Australia the goal is to get both cars to the finish and to be as close to the pack in front as possible. With the new developments, hopefully by Malaysia we'll be racing them."