US Grand Prix preview - BMW WilliamsF1
Team
US Grand Prix - 28/29/30-09-01 - PREVIEW
The BMW WilliamsF1 Team obviously goes to Indianapolis on a high after Juan
Pablo Montoya's debut win in Monza and Ralf Schumacher's third place.
Although it did not do well in the USA last year, WilliamsF1 has five wins to
its name and BMW one on other tracks in the country, and no one is
discounting Juan Pablo pulling off the double by adding a victory in the
Grand Prix to his 2000 Indy 500 win. Everyone is aware although the Grand
Prix is only in its second year, there is a great deal of motorsport history
associated with this track.
Ralf Schumacher
"We should be quite well prepared for Indianapolis and even though Michelin
have not been there with Formula 1 before I am sure they will have done their
homework.The organisers have done a good job with the circuit, but last year
everybody was excited about the high-speed corner from the oval and I found
the exciting part of this was the fact you don't have a runoff area, only a
wall! The infield is very tight and a challenge to drive. There were a lot of
spectators last year, but unfortunately they are a long way from the track so
as a driver you don't feel the atmosphere that much."
Juan Pablo Montoya
"It should be an interesting track because it is a bit of a compromise
between high and low downforce, so we could be quite quick there. It is all
about trying to find the best solution for it. We may be competitive there
because it is only when it is maximum downforce that we tend to struggle."
Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer)
"Indianapolis is completely different to any of the other circuits on the
Formula 1 calendar. It has the longest straight with up to 23 seconds on full
throttle, followed by tight and twisty corners, none of them high speed at
all. Part of the Formula 1 circuit uses two corners from the oval track, but
they are full throttle so are considered part of the straight. The set-up
needs to be geared towards good traction because of all the slow-speed exit
conditions. After discussions with Michelin we are confident they are taking
a construction and compound that matches the requirements of the circuit. We
are confident they will be competitive even though they have not tested here
before. With the circuit layout demanding maximum downforce for the infield
and minimum drag for the straight, we are sure to see a variety of different
wing levels tried throughout the weekend. There will be a mix of different
strategies at this year's race due to changes in the pitlane and a lack of
historical data for the circuit."
Gerhard Berger (BMW Motorsport Director)
"Following the tragic events in America this Grand Prix has been the subject
of lots of discussions, but from our point of view now the most important
thing is for everyone to concentrate on their targets for the race and do the
best job possible.The circuit is not tailor-made for us like Monza or
Hockenheim, but it has a long, full-throttle sector that should suit us. Ralf
has a score to settle here as he retired last year when in a strong position
to finish second. For Juan Pablo the venue, where he won the Indy 500 in
2000, has a special meaning for him, and the victory in Monza will have made
him even stronger. We are looking forward to the race and are putting highest
priority on technical reliability, and if we achieve this we have a good
chance of scoring some more points this season."
· This will be the second United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis
circuit, but not the first Grand Prix held in the town in Indiana as from
1950 to 1960 there were 11 held at the oval, which is more famous as being
the home of the Indy 500.
These were not surprisingly all won by American drivers with names such as
Vukovich, Rathman and Sweikert in cars with names such as Fuel Injection
Specials, Ken Pauls and John Zink Specials. The first race with the title of
the USA Grand Prix was held in Sebring in 1959, and since then the race has
had a further eight homes. The current circuit, that incorporates part of the
oval, is 2.605 miles (4.192 km) long and the 73-lap race will be 190.190
miles (306.016 km) long.One big difference between the oval and the road
course is they go in opposite directions so turn six would usually be turn
one. While the fans were waiting to see cars go the wrong way round their
track last year, they were also waiting to see a car drive there for the
first time in the rain.The weather duly obliged and the opening laps of the
race were on a damp circuit.The race will start at 13.00 local time (18.00
GMT) on Sunday, 30th September.The lap record was established last year by
fifth-placed David Coulthard in his McLaren with a time of 1m 14.711s
(125.513mph/201.994km/h), while the race was won by Michael Schumacher in his
Ferrari.
Ralf Schumacher # 5 Juan Pablo Montoya # 6
Nationality German Colombian
Born 30 June 1975 - Hürth, (Ger) 20 Sept. 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 1st France 1st : 2001 Eur, Bel, Italy
Best GP fin. 1st: 2001 RSM, Can, Ger 1st: 2001 Italy
GP starts 81 15
Points 2001 48 25
Total points 134 25
Fastest laps 5 2
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
Great Britain 10th DNF 8th 4th
Germany 2nd 1st 1st DNF
Hungary 4th 4th 8th 8th
Belgian 2nd 7th 1st DNF
Italy 4th 3rd 1st 1st
PRESS CONFERENCE - All members of the media are invited to a BMW Press
Conference with Juan Pablo Montoya on Wednesday, 26th September at 10am in
the TV Production Studio of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - it is located
outside the confines of the circuit opposite the IMS main building. A photo
shoot will follow.
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
