APRIL 23, 2001
Verstappen expects traction control to bring change
AS the teams prepare to go head to head on the racetrack with traction control for the first time since 1993, Arrows driver Jos Verstappen is looking forward to a new start.
He is expecting big changes when the previously banned driver aid makes its racing return, and hopes his team can take advantage of the changing rules.
"It should be very interesting as, with traction control coming back it is a bit like starting a new season," said Verstappen.
"You don't know where you stand compared to all the other teams. Hopefully our system works well. We've been doing some work in it this week and we will see the results in Barcelona."
The return of the driver aid, which was banned from Formula One at the end of 1993, is not expected to have much of an effect on lap times, more a change in race strategies.
For debutante Enrique Bernoldi, who finished a Formula One race for the first time at the last event in San Marino, the high-speed corners at the Circuit de Catalunya will suit him well.
"For me it is a very good circuit," said Bernoldi, who has raced at the circuit before. "There is a good mixture of corners and lots of fast ones which I like."