British GP preview - BMW WilliamsF1 Team
British Grand Prix -13/14/15-07-01- PREVIEW
The British Grand Prix at Silverstone is the second home race for the
Anglo-German BMW WilliamsF1 Team and one that holds great memories for Frank
Williams and his Grove-based team. It was here in 1979 that WilliamsF1 had
its first win with Clay Regazzoni driving the FW07. Since then the team has
won a further nine British Grands Prix - more than any other team in this
period - and the last of these in 1997 was also the team's 100th Grand Prix
victory. In the run-up to the race the team spent four days testing in
Barcelona with Marc Gene and three in France at Lurcy-Levis doing
straight-line aerodynamic testing with Formula 3000 driver, Ricardo
Sperafico. The team also tested at the Northamptonshire track a month ago and
completed a total of 276 laps.
Ralf Schumacher
"The circuit is quick and challenging, but unfortunately it is very difficult
if not impossible to overtake here. Bridge and Copse are corners where there
is very little run-off area so you have to be careful not to go off at either
of these places. However, the safety at Stowe has been improved since my
brother, Michael, had his accident there in1999. It is always a great
atmosphere at Silverstone and I am looking forward to being there as it is
one of our team's home races."
Juan Pablo Montoya
"It is a track that I know pretty well. Silverstone is a bit of a question
mark on the tyres, but it seems everywhere we go the tyres are working really
well when it counts. We have new parts since the last time we tested there,
so we should be quite good. I have only raced twice on the Grand Prix
circuit, but have also raced on the shorter National circuit."
Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer)
"Silverstone requires a harder tyre than the last few circuits. The circuit
has a good mixture of low, medium and high speed corners. High speed sections
mean that tyre degradation is an issue and as such selecting between
Michelin's Prime and Option tyres will be a difficult choice. The team tests
here regularly and this helps create a level playing field for the drivers
and their set-ups. As usual, strategy is vital due to the lack of overtaking
opportunities."
Dr. MarioTheissen (BMW Motorsport Director)
"We have confirmed what we suspected after Magny Cours, that Juan Pablo
Montoya retired due to an engine failure. It was the first retirement from a
race this season due to an engine problem. We have located the problem and
solving this is our highest priority leading up to the Silverstone race. In
the week following the French Grand Prix we completed an extensive test
programme on two tracks. In Barcelona we successfully tested some
modifications in the areas of the engine management system and engine
mapping, as well as completing some intensive tyre testing."
· TheSilverstone Circuit has been changed many times over the years since the
first British Grand Prix was held there in1950. This year's race will be the
35th held at the Northamptonshire Circuit, with the only other tracks to play
host to the British round of the World Championships being Aintree five times
and Brands Hatch 12. Although Great Britain only has one Grand Prix, three
European Grands Prix have been held there at Brands Hatch in '83 and '85 and
Donington in '93. While there have been some great races at the circuit, the
event last year will be remembered for the weather rather than the racing.
The circuit lost its traditional July date and instead the race was held in
April. Torrential rain leading up to the event left the ground sodden and the
car parks were so bad that all spectators cars were banned for the Saturday.
There is no chance of this happening this year with the circuit having worked
hard to make sure it was a one-off disaster. The circuit is 3.194 miles
(5.141 km) long and the 60-lap race will be 191.604 miles (308.356 km) long.
The race will start at 13.00 local time (14.00 CET) on Sunday, 15th July. The
lap record was set in 1997 by Michael Schumacher in his Ferrari with a time
of 1m 24.475s (136.109mph/219.047km/h). Last year's race was won by Mika
Hakkinen in a McLaren Mercedes while his team-mate, David Coulthard, set the
fastest lap in a time of 1m 26.217s (133.385mph/214.663km/h).
Ralf Schumacher # 5 Juan Pablo Montoya
Nationality German Colombian
Born 30 June 1975 - Hurth, (Ger) 20Sept. 1975, Bogota (Col)
Marital status engaged to Cora Brinkmann single
Lives Salzburg (Austria) Monte Carlo (MC), Oxford
(UK)
Height 1,78 m 1,68 m
Weight 73 kg 72 kg
F1 debut 1997, Melbourne, Australia 2001, Melbourne, Australia
Best qualifying 2nd: 2001 Brazil, Canada 2nd: 2001 Austria
Best GP fin. 1st: 2001 San Marino, Canada 2nd: 2001 Spain, European
GPstarts 76 10
Points 2001 31 12
Total points 117 12
Fastest laps 4 1
2001 FIA F1 Championship
Qualifying Race Qualifying Race
Australia 5th DNF 11th DNF
Malaysia 3rd 5th 6th DNF
Brazil 2nd DNF 4th DNF
San Marino 3rd 1st 7th DNF
Spain 5th DNF 12th 2nd
Austria 3rd DNF 2nd DNF
Monaco 5th DNF 7th DNF
Canada 2nd 1st 10th DNF
European 2nd 4th 3rd 2nd
France 1st 2nd 6th DNF
Media contact:
WilliamsF1
Ann Bradshaw
ann.bradshaw@williamsf1.com
Tel: +44 79 772 75 838
BMW
Guido Stalmann
Tel: +49(0) 170 5666 112
guido.stalmann@bmw.de
###
Sylvia Proudfoot
spur07@cs.com
403 287 3945
