[airco]

FIA Formula 3000 Championship
Round 4/12, A1-Ring, Austria
Qualifying, May 10 2002
Weather: warm, sunny


Mario Haberfeld: 4th, 1m 22.425s
“This turned out a little better than I had expected, to be honest. I was only eighth after the first session and at that point I didn’t feel as though I could get much more from the car. Then we made a small change to the front end of the chassis and that brought about a big improvement. We went quicker straight away in the second session – but more importantly the car became both fast and easy to drive. We got through a lot of work – 52 laps is about one and a half race distances here – and I’m happy to be so close to the front because there isn’t much to choose between the leading drivers. This was a very close qualifying session, with only three tenths of a second covering the top 10. If I can make a good start tomorrow I think I’ll be in pretty good shape.”

Rob Nguyen: 12th, 1m 22.836s
“The team did a great job because my car was quick straight out of the box. I am starting from a slightly higher plane than usual this weekend, because the A1-Ring is the only track on this season’s schedule that I already know quite well. I still have a lot to learn, though, because the braking points in an F3000 car are very different from those in the Formula VW chassis I raced last year. I was lying in the top 10 for quite a while and it’s a shame I didn’t quite manage to stay there. I am confident I can make up a few places in the race, though. You have to be careful here because it is very slippery off the racing line, but there are still a number of good overtaking possibilities.”

Mikke van Hool, team principal
“I am very happy with our performance today. Mario repeated the form he showed in Brazil and Barcelona and proved that he is going to be a consistent front-runner this season. As for Rob, his ability to amaze me never ceases. He is by far the least experienced driver in the field, but you would never know that from watching him.”

bron: team Astromega Press release