19/09/2005
NEWS STORY
Mark Webber will again be partnered by Antonio Pizzonia for his home Grand Prix at Interlagos in Brazil next weekend. Pizzonia replaces the injured Nick Heidfeld, who has suffered a succession of incidents while testing and, more latterly, sustaining a cracked shoulder blade following a cycling accident.
The team is approaching the final three races of a difficult season with renewed confidence based on increasing competitiveness over the past four races.
Mark Webber: I always enjoy the Brazilian Grand Prix, the fans are very passionate and knowledgeable. It was also a formative part of growing up, watching great racing there on television, particularly in the Senna/McLaren era.
As with the last race at Spa, Interlagos can throw up a real mixture of weather, particularly heavy rain showers in the late afternoon, which can make the weekend very interesting. The track is, of course, famous for its anti-clockwise direction and also has many undulations and bumps, but I don't mind this as it provides a good challenge for the driver. After our fourth place in Spa, I'm hoping we can continue to push for more points at Interlagos.
Antonio Pizzonia: Obviously I am very happy I've been given the opportunity to race again, particularly as Brazil is my home race. It will be very special for me to race in front of a home crowd so I can't wait. Interlagos is a great track, one which I really enjoy driving so I'm hoping to have a good weekend. The bumps make it quite a tricky circuit and a unique one when it comes to set-up of the car. The weather can be unpredictable in Sao Paulo and I wouldn't be surprised if we had some rain this year. It was good for me to be in the car this week at Silverstone, where we tested for two days, so I now feel better prepared for the race.
Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1): Interlagos is a great track with many overtaking opportunities, mainly created due to the two straights and the undulating terrain. Dominated by slow to medium corners and straight lines, it is important to have a good car balance in the corners that precede the straights.
The long pitlane and low fuel penalty both have a first order affect on strategy decision and indeed what tyre compound level we will use. We have worked with Michelin to choose two tyres that should cover the different track temperatures that are inherent to this circuit.
It's great that Antonio has another opportunity to race, especially in Brazil where he will be in front of his home crowd. This, coupled with Mark's solid qualifying position, should enable us maximise the results in Brazil, a track that we won on last year."
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): The three flyaway races at the end of the season present a real challenge to the team and our logistics. Winning last year's race in São Paulo was the highlight of our season. This year we have had a difficult season so we would like to score good points in the remaining Grands Prix.
In Interlagos the main challenge for the BMW P84/5 engine is the start-finish straight. It leads uphill and the cars are flat out for 1,203 metres. Also, the 60 percent full-throttle ratio per lap is more than average. One can not really expect heat in São Paulo at this time of the year, changeable weather conditions are more likely.
After the latest and final engine specification proved its strength in Monza and Spa, we are well prepared for Interlagos. According to plan, both drivers will get fresh V10 engines for almost the last time this year.