"We certainly saw a small improvement during the weekend in Barcelona," technical director Bob Bell confirms, "Our new suspension and aerodynamic developments were clearly working well, and the drivers both felt more confident with the car than they had done at recent races. More than anything in Monaco, the drivers need to be able to trust the car and, at the moment, the R27 is not the easiest car to take to the limit with confidence, so that may make life more difficult. It is easy to underestimate how important a role the car plays and there is no magic wand in Monte Carlo - a bad car doesn't suddenly become a good one."
Giancarlo Fisichella has a reputation as something of a Monaco master, but admits that he is not expecting great things from this year's race.
"My race in Barcelona was a tough one, because of the refuelling problems, but I think our level of performance during the weekend was better," he says, "Hopefully, we can carry on moving in the same direction. We are not on the pace of the leaders yet, and we are honest about it, but we are moving forward, and that's important for the motivation and for the team. We are determined to bounce back, and everybody is working flat out to make sure that happens as soon as possible. Monaco is the next challenge for us, and we will be aiming to give our best."
Kovalainen, meanwhile, will be making his
F1 debut in the Principality, but has shown that he could be a threat after dominating the 2005 GP2 race there before pit-stop problems intervened.
