Away on holiday for the Monaco GP Race, Phoenix F1 team boss Andy Graydon was pleasantly surprised to see both his cars finish in the points at one of the toughest races of the season.
"Antonio did a great job again, and is constantly challenging the fringes below the top 3. 5th around Monaco was a fantastic result for him and the team. But Mark Nieuwlaar's debut performance was equally impressive - 8th position and 1 point for the team. He should be very proud of his result, and he's done a great job at short notice".
Expectations are rising that the Phoenix F1 outfit can now start to challenge Mapes-VO for the Constructors Championship.
"Mapes-VO losing Petri Loukasmaki to retirement could mean that they have only one points scorer in the form of Jakonen. As our driver line-up is so strong for the rest of the season - with the likes of Wilkinson, Consiglio, Irisarri and an impressive guest driver (still to be announced) making a formidable line-up, I can really see our aim now being to get 2nd place in the Constructors as a definite - and perhaps having the ability to take 1st position from the dominance that has been Mapes-VO for the past 2 seasons."
Quite an expectation, bearing in mind that 40 points lies between Mapes-VO and Phoenix F1, who are still 4th in the Constructors!
"We have to aim high. Aiming high means we are also wanting to achieve our maiden victory as a team. With 11 races left, and our reliebility now the best on the grid, I believe that both aims are achievable - and perhaps that win may arrive sooner rather than later!"
For the European GP, both cars qualified in 11th and 12th - seemingly not very promising for the race itself. However, fuel levels are still unknown at this stage, so tactics could play a major part in the race. "What you see grid position wise could and probably will be a lot different to the race end positions. I believe we have the right tactics to challenge for top 3 positions again", commented Andy.
It was also confirmed at the end of the interview that Antonio Irisarri would be standing down for the Canadian & USA GP's (he's off on vacation and will be at Indy to see the real F1 Race, lucky man!!).
"Our expected driver line-up for the Canadian GP will be Daniel Wilkinson and Joe Consiglio - a highly promising combination! For the USA GP, it will be Daniel again - but we can't release details of his partner until after the European GP due to contractual requirements".
