By Huw Alban
July 14 2006

One thing is for sure - the team and it's drivers are certainly talking up the next Grand Prix weekend. Whether it's due to knowledge because of car development or because of an upturn in performance overall remains to be seen.

The preview I wrote for the USGP two weeks ago was cautious and less than optimistic. However, the teams performance during practice and qualifying was exceptionally encouraging and I have to admit that on race day I was convinced that Midland F1 had a shout at scoring it's first points of the season. The first lap incident that saw Tiago Monteiro emerge in 9th place had me on my feet - no way could I sit to watch this!

Unfortunately Super Aguri put pay to those high hopes, and my enthusiasm dialed back simply hoping to see Christijan finish the race but that was not to be either.

On attending the team test at Silverstone last week I was expecting a subdued atmosphere, but it was anything but. Everyone was motivated and focussed, and apparently enjoying what they were doing. At the end of the session Oliver Knighton seemed very pleased with the components that he had been asked to evaluate.

It would appear that the team are more than capable of putting their disappointments behind them, and looking forward to the next round of the 2006 Championship at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France.

If that wasn't enough, the various press releases published by the team are also filled with optimism. "We will be coming to this event with some more updates for the M16, as well as returning the car to its more familiar higher-downforce configuration," says Chief Race and Test Engineer, Dominic Harlow.

"As for this weekend, I think the car will be fairly suited to Magny-Cours," enthused Sporting Relations Manager, Johnny Herbert, "because there are some high-speed corners, and the car seemed to be suited to fast corners at Silverstone." For those of you with short memories Silverstone was the first venue where the team broke into the top 16 in qualifying, and something they managed with both M16s at the United States Grand Prix.

On paper then, it's all looking good, but what do I think? I think this team are finally starting to gel and the net result is shown in the gradual but sustained performance gains from the M16. At this point in time I see no reason why Magny-Cours should interrupt that progress and have a feeling that we'll see a strong performance from the team.

As ever we wish them well, and will be watching their progress closely.

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