23/09/2005
NEWS STORY
It was a productive first day of practice for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team. Antonio Pizzonia and Mark Webber carried out their scheduled work in preparation for the Brazilian race.
Antonio Pizzonia: The positive aspect is that today we went through everything we had planned to do, especially in regard to the tyre comparison. Talking about the car, at the moment it's very difficult to drive, but I am sure most of the other drivers are experiencing similar problems, so it's the same for everyone.
Mark Webber: It was quite a tough day for us. Interlagos is always a demanding circuit for the car because of the bumpy nature of the track. We have got a lot of work to do tonight in order to improve our balance, because we need to find some more pace for the long runs.
Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1): We have had a good practice session going through our normal programme with checking brakes, tyres and cooling for the race. We have collected data on both tyre compounds for our decision tonight. Brazil is different to all other tracks, in particular with the lower air density which influences a lot of things. There is a chance of rain which could cause set-up changes. In the event of a wet race everyone will benefit from their recent experience in Spa. We had no mechanical problems today
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): Our drivers went through their scheduled programmes. Neither driver is completely satisfied with his car yet. From the data we have collected today, we will work on improving the set-up for tomorrow and we will make our tyre choice. We experienced no engine problems in today's sessions.