14/06/2005
NEWS STORY
The BMW WilliamsF1 Team heads to Indianapolis this week for the second leg of the North American double header, the United States Grand Prix. Following mixed fortunes in Montreal, the team is looking for an improved result at the legendary Brickyard circuit.
Nick Heidfeld: "I have always liked Indianapolis, I've always had good results there in the past so I'm looking forward to going back there again and hopefully getting another good result for the team. The place itself is outstanding, particularly because of the grandstand in front of the pits. I hope there's another good crowd to give us a great atmosphere. The banking looks spectacular but, for a driver, it is actually quite easy to go flat out there as long as you don't have any problems with the car. We should be a bit stronger in the US than we were in Montreal."
Mark Webber: "Every time we visit Indianapolis, it's impossible to ignore the fantastic history and atmosphere of the Brickyard, and the world famous Indy 500. It's a place steeped in American motor racing history, but I also think Formula One is growing bigger in the States with every US GP. In fact, I expect the interest will be even greater this year given that this year's championship has so many different contenders and new names are coming to the fore. What always impresses me about racing in the States is just how passionate and educated the audience is about Formula One. The layout of the circuit isn't the most demanding by any means for either the car, or the driver, because of the repetitive nature of the infield section. But that's why we go to nineteen different venues each year as they all provide very different challenges. Indy is a circuit which generally provides pretty good racing, mainly because the long straight offers the drivers some overtaking opportunities at the end of it."
Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1): "We are now going to Indy, the second of the North American races, and a circuit similar to Montreal in that it is a low drag level track. The circuit demands one of the longest times on full throttle, at just over 20 seconds from the last corner all the way through the banking and down to Turn 1. The rest of the circuit is dominated by slow speed corners, which means that traction control is crucial. It is also important to have a tyre that can cope with the high loads of the banking while giving good grip in slow speed. The tyres were selected two weeks ago for this Grand Prix, having worked on them with Michelin during our test programme in Europe. In terms of race strategy, Indy is normally a two-stop race, but we'll wait and see what the situation is on tyre degradation and fuel effect after practice."
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): "For the BMW P84/5 engines, Indianapolis means maximum mechanical loads. Along the straight of the oval, drivers go flat out for more than 20 seconds. The greatest load is along the second half when the final stretch of the straight demands more than ten seconds of full-throttle driving. Mark and Nick will have new engines for this race, as scheduled. The US is the biggest export market for BMW. In terms of sales volume, it currently lies in second place behind the German home market. There is a keen interest in the sporty M models here, nowhere else sells as many of the BMW M cars as in the United States."