Frustrated Wilson Rues Lack of Testing

Briton Justin Wilson says there is little he can do to make his Minardi go faster due to the lack of testing.

The small Anglo-Italian squad, the only ones yet to score a point this year, have only tested on each Friday of the five first races of 2003, while all their rivals have been able to develop their cars outside the Grand Prix weekends.

"The pressure of Formula One is immense," the Briton said. "I focus a lot on qualifying, on figuring out when the tyres are going to come in and how to get them to do that at the crucial moment.

"It's frustrating being so far off the pace in qualifying and not being able to go and play with the Ferraris and McLarens. The only other driver I'm racing at the moment is my own teammate. All the others are ahead of us over a race distance.

"The Minardi might be the fastest car I've ever driven, but it's still the slowest car on the Formula One grid. I don't know what Minardi's programme is for the future, but it's difficult to get settled with the car because we don't do any testing.

"I only see it every other weekend when I turn up for the races. And then there is only so much you can do with the car to make it go faster, so sometimes you have to dig deeper and find something extra in your driving."

Wilson says, however, that being given the slowest car to drive in Formula One this year has enabled him to become the fastest starter in the business. Rookie Wilson believes that qualifying at the back of the grid in his Minardi means he has nothing to lose on the first laps of Grands Prix - and he has made up a staggering 33 places in the five race starts so far.

"It's my only chance to make up places, so I just go for it," said Wilson. "On the first lap, everyone else seems to be a little bit unsure and tends to panic and I see gaps they probably wouldn't risk diving into. But it's my only chance to get past people in the races. Going past half the grid is a good feeling, particularly when you come out in eighth or ninth place."

In Melbourne Wilson went from 20th on the grid to 12th at the end of lap one. In Malaysia he went from 19th to eighth, at Interlagos he made up five places and in Spain he gained nine places to move to ninth. He has only lost track position at one start since his debut, in the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, where he went from 18th on the grid back to 19th at the end of the opening lap.

Wilson believes his season turned a vital corner in Spain where he finished a Grand Prix for the first time, following retirements in the opening four rounds on the calendar. He might have crossed the line two laps down on winner Michael Schumacher's Ferrari, but Wilson had also got the upper hand over much more experienced teammate Jos Verstappen.

"It was a big relief to get the first finish after it not working out in the first four races," said Wilson. "It was a big weight off my shoulders. But it was very physical. Five or six times a lap we were pulling up to 3Gs. I remember thinking it was already quite difficult and then looking up at the big electronic scoreboard and seeing we were only on lap 30.

"After that, it's a case of bracing yourself until the end. I think the result was a lift for the whole team. Hopefully, we can move forwards and finish in the top 10 in some of the next races."