Mark Webber during the San Marino GP (picture Jaguar Racing/MarkThompson Getty images)

..but pure speed in qualifying isn't enough... you also need good driveshafts, reliable clutch and launch control system, an accurate pit lane rev limiter... and luck. More on these little details in a minute...

For the the fourth round of the 2003 Formula One Championship, the F1 circus returned to Europe for the San Marino GP at Imola. San Marino is small principality in northern Italy, too small and probably too mountainous to have a race track, so the race is held at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. You guessed it... Ferrari territory and Tifosi (Ferrari fans) stronghold. Imola is one of those traditional European tracks, narrow with elevation changes and good scenery. It's also where World champion Ayrton Senna died almost 10 year ago in 1994. Some say, San Marino is just an excuse to have two GP in Italy... maybe... although that may change as F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is considering pullilng the plug on the San Marino GP ( just like Austria and Spa Francorchamp) in favor of exotic locations like Barhain or China... Exotic? read where teams are free to display tobacco advertising...

Following the demolition derby which took place in Brazil two weeks earlier and the controversial finish, many are still waiting to see where the top teams are really standing on the grid. With rain disrupting the previous race weekends, it is still hard to see who is fast in 2003 and who is not. Jaguar Racing is obviously of interest to us Jaguar enthusiasts and so far it's hard to tell how good... or how R3ish, the R4 is. Mark Webber appears to be quick but is it just due to low fuel weight...

As expected, things got back to normal at Imola, with Ferrari strong in practice and sweeping the top 2 position in Friday qualifying. Under the new rules, the Friday qualifying session which has little effect on final grid position and is interesting to see who is really fast. Since cars cannot be refueled between Saturday qualifying and the race, teams can sacrifice grid position for a longer first stint and one fewer pit stop... or they can sacrifice their race strategy to leap to the front of the starting grid. But on Friday, there is little reason not to impress the sponsors so teams are expected to run little fuel for maximum speed.

No surprise there, with both Ferrari in P1 and P2, followed by both Williams BMW. Fifth spot is a surprise as it was claimed by Mark Webber driving the Jaguar R4 only 1 second slower than Schumacher's Ferrari; impressive considering that last year the gap was more like 3 to 4 seconds... Unfortunately, Antonio Pizzonia still failed to impress anyone with a mediocre 15th spot, over one a a quarter second behind his teammate...

Saturday morning, during practice Mark Webber continued to impress with a strong 3rd place just over 1/10" off the leading Ferrari. With final qualifying ran in reverse Friday qualifying order, all eyes were on the Australian driver to see if he could equal his 3rd place on the Brazilian grid. A clean lap placed him on provisional pole to the delight of the team crew, even though it would not hold for long as the final 4 runners, both Ferraris and both Williams, jumped to the top leaving Mark with his very respectable 5th spot. Antonio Pizzonia failed to improve on his 15th spot...

Race day... an emotional time in the paddock with news that the mother of drivers Michael and Ralf Schumacher had died in Germany following a fall in her home a few days earlier. The brothers had flown to see her at the hospital after qualifying on the front row Saturday afternoon and got back to Imola in time for the race.

By the time the lights went off and the 20 cars roared forward, any hope of a good week end had been dashed for Jaguar Racing. Mark Webber, victim of a clutch / launch control problem lost 7 spots, and Pizzonia was dead on the grid, being pushed by race marshals in the pit lane from where he would be able to start one lap down... With Imola being a fairly narrow track where passing is difficult, there wasn't much Mark could do to salvage his race, spending most of the race just outside the top 10 until a driveshaft failure forced his retirement on lap 54...should we mention a pit lane rev limiter snafu which caused him to exceed the speed limit and receive a drive through penalty? Pizzonia managed to finish the race, in 14th place and 2 laps down...

It was no surprise to find both Ferrari drivers on the podium, with Michael Schumacher winning and Rubens Barrichelo 3rd. Young gun Kimi Raikkonen finished 2nd, on a 2 stop strategy vs 3 stops for most of the other cars, and retains the lead in the championship. Out of respect for the race winner, Parc Ferme celebration and podium ceremony were kept low key, a rare thing in Italy, with an emotional Michael Schumacher not attending the post race conference. Both Schumacher brothers had received a dispensation from the FIA leaving them free to appear or not on the podium and press conference should they finish in the top 3.

After the race, Webber called on the team to solve the problems with the R4 which has proven to be fast but still plagued by problems. "It's happened too often, it's not funny and it needs fixing," said Webber. "I am very disappointed about it because we should have got a point here"

So far this year in 4 races, Jaguar Racing has still to get a single point. The car has shown some potential in the hands of Mark Webber by qualifying in the top ten for two races in a row but results are still eluding the team. Lack of performance from Pizzonia is not helping and chances are that if he doesn't get close to his teammate on the time sheets, his days in the R4 will be numbered.

In other team news.... Jordan Ford went from winners to double DNF after poor qualifying. Renault confirmed their good form with Alonso's 6th place; the spaniard strong qualifying and finishes continue to impress. Williams BMW is slowly improving their disapointing FW25 but are in risk of falling back when both Ferrari and McLaren introduce their new cars. Ferrari is expected to debut their F2003GA at the Spanish GP May 5th, assuming testing shows the car is reliable enough. One of the problem is said to come from rear suspension mounting points on the engine, the probable cause of 2 early testing crashes. McLaren has yet to test their new car not expected to debut for at least 3 or 4 races. McLaren veteran David Coulthard was once again overshadowed by his younger teammate, Kimi Raikonen. Looks like DC will never get the best of any Finish teammate... The BAR war between Jenson Button and Jacques Villeneuve is still a dead heat with outspoken Villeneuve barely outqualifying Button who finished 8th and score the point he needed to tie his teammate at ... 3 points each! Mercedes' boss Norbert Haug announced they will finally offer a customer version of their engine next year, at half the prices charged by Ferrari and Ford Cosworth currently the only manufacturers to power more than one team. Price tag will be $ 10 millions for the Mercedes contract vs. $ 20 millions Jordan, Sauber and Minardi are currently paying.