German Grand Prix — free practice
July 22, 2005

Preparations for Sunday’s German Grand Prix, the 12th round of the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship, got underway today at Hockenheim. Tiago Monteiro, Narain Karthikeyan and newly appointed Friday driver, Nicolas Kiesa, worked steadily through their assigned technical tasks, primarily focussing on achieving a satisfactory chassis balance and evaluating the Bridgestone tyre
choices available this weekend. Progress was made in all areas, and the team looks forward to another productive day tomorrow.

Free practice 1

Narain Karthikeyan (EJ15/01)	18th	1:18.988	21 laps
Tiago Monteiro (EJ15/03)	20th	1:19.400	19 laps
Nicolas Kiesa (EJ15/04)	21st	1:19.933	25 laps

Free practice 2

Narain Karthikeyan (EJ15/01)	19th	1:17.506	25 laps
Tiago Monteiro (EJ15/03)	22nd	1:18.227	28 laps
Nicolas Kiesa (EJ15/04)	23rd	1:19.484	19 laps

Team quotes on the German Grand Prix Friday free practice sessions
Narain Karthikeyan
“It was another new track for me this season, therefore I had to learn the layout very quickly. It is quite a difficult circuit, especially when you are entering the stadium. However, my day went reasonably well. We have been working a lot on our tyre choice for the rest of the weekend and I think we have found a good compound.”

Tiago Monteiro
“It was a good productive day. We have been through our entire tyre test programme and some set-up changes as well. Overall, I am pretty satisfied with the balance of the car. We will have to keep on working on it tomorrow during the last two Free Practice sessions. Besides, the weather forecast for the rest of the weekend could maybe play in our favour so it will be interesting.”

Nicolas Kiesa
“It was quite difficult to get back to Formula One after being away for one year and a half. I have not had any testing for a long time; therefore to do ten-lap runs was quite hard on my neck. My physical condition was ok but at the end, my face was pointing in the other direction of the corners. I have lost a little bit of time near the end but I think I could give valuable information. I was able to pick up very quickly and match up with my teammates. I am very satisfied after today’s two sessions.”

Sporting director: Adrian Burgess
“It was a fairly uneventful day. The three drivers have all done a good job. We have not had any particular problems with any of the cars. We have been through the normal procedure with the Bridgestone tyre evaluation and set-up work. Nicolas acclimatised himself very quickly to the car, which was good to see. We would like to thank him for what he has done today and maybe we will get to see him again in the future.”