BMW WilliamsF1 Team-Spanish GP-Preview
Spanish Grand Prix - 2/3/4 May 2003 PREVIEW
The Circuit de Catalunya, home of the Spanish Grand Prix, presents one of
the more demanding Grand Prix venues of the 2003 season. Despite hosting a
large proportion of the seasonŒs Formula One testing activities, the
vagaries of localised weather conditions, especially the wind, makes the
circuit a real set-up challenge for race engineers and drivers alike.
The BMW WilliamsF1 Team has on occasions suffered as a consequence of the
complex set-up demands of the track. However, in recent years the team has
performed well on race day, and approaches the forthcoming race confidently,
buoyed in particular by Ralf SchumacherŒs unbeaten testing times set
recently on March 27 and 28 at the Barcelona circuit.
Ralf Schumacher:
"Naturally, following the loss of my mother last weekend, I am having a hard
time at the moment. I therefore appreciate the support and consideration
both the fans and the media have shown myself and Michael at this difficult
time. Regarding the next Grand Prix, Barcelona is a demanding circuit with
four high speed corners and changeable wind conditions; the track is on a
hill so considerable pressure is placed on the aerodynamics of the car and
the tyres. As a result, we spend a considerable amount of time testing at
Barcelona. Finding the optimum balance of the car is one of the most
difficult tasks for us but, with the intense development of our chassis and
the improvements made on the aero side, I am fairly optimistic that our
performance will be better than in recent races."
Juan Pablo Montoya:
"The Circuit de Catalunya is the track where we have completed the most
amount of testing this year. That doesn't mean it is one of my favourite
tracks though. However, in 1998, when I was racing in F3000, I won there
and in the past two years with the BMW WilliamsF1 Team I achieved two second
places; definitely a better result than we expected at the time. The track
is very demanding in terms of set-up of the car because it presents a wide
variety of situations but we are going to run the aerodynamic improvements
we had in Imola, so we should feel more confident this time. I think that,
in most of the races so far this season, we have not achieved what we should
have done so I hope our fortunes change in Barcelona."
Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1):
"At Imola the car was quite competitive, particularly helped by recent
contributions from the aero department, however we let ourselves down with
simple driver errors and crew problems in the pit stops. The pitstop crew is
fast as they have shown regularly over the last two seasons. Even after the
problems on Sunday, Ralf had the fastest pitstop time for the race, and we
have put corrections in place for the problems we experienced.
"We spent this week testing at Silverstone focusing on chassis development
and we feel we have made some progress in that department, despite Juan
PabloŒs accident on day two. Fortunately heŒs fine and Marc ran on the last
day to finish off the test programme. Rain hampered the schedule but it
enabled us to confirm a recent improvement in the performance of the wet
tyre. Barcelona is a challenging circuit for both the engineers and drivers
to find a well balanced set up. We obviously spend a lot of time here during
winter testing, but the changeable conditions mean that you are still
experimenting with the setup during race weekend. With four high speed
corners, the tyres need to be harder than usual to cope with the high
degradation and this puts a large emphasis on aerodynamic efficiency. As at
the last GP, strategy could easily be 2 or 3 stops and with overtaking so
difficult here a good grid position is essential."
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
"To date, Barcelona has proved a challenge for us, even though Juan Pablo
has finished second in the past two years here. The demands on the engine
are medium, and the amount of the lap at full throttle is average for the
season. The power of the BMW P83 has been clearly demonstrated on the long
straights and, so far, we have had no technical problems with the engine.
Our latest test at the Circuit de Catalunya at the end of March was
encouraging; we have achieved impressive results in terms of chassis, engine
and tyre development, all of which has been mirrored in the driversΠtimes
in testing and our performance at Imola. Our performance during qualifying
has also improved but we need to translate that to the races and get some
podium finishes. We are looking forward to Barcelona and hope to achieve a
positive result."
Facts and Figures
- On Friday 2nd May, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team will present their latest
Merchandising Collection at the Torre de Telefonica, Montjuic
("Calatravia"), c/Pierre de Coubertin s/nº Montaña de Montjuïc, Barcelona.
The event starts at 19:00 hrs. At 20:00 hrs the presentation commences with
interviews and a fashion show, followed by a party. All Formula One
journalists with permanent accreditation are welcome to attend.
- At 18:30hrs in the BMW WilliamsF1 Team Paddock Club on Saturday May 3,
Frank Williams and Patrick Head, together with representatives from Allianz,
will present the Allianz Safety Dictionary to the media. Please see Peter
Philips or Silvia Hoffer for a credential pass.
- The city of Barcelona (population approx. 1.8 million) with its
Mediterranean seaport lies in northeast Spain. It is the economic and
cultural centre of Catalonia and boasts several universities and colleges,
as well as numerous museums and cultural monuments. Among the city¹s most
famous sons is Art Nouveau architect Antoni Gaudí (1852-1924), whose legacy
includes the uncompleted Sagrada Familia cathedral.
- Since the debut visit of Formula One in 1951, 32 Grands Prix have been
held in Spain at venues including the Circuit de Catalunya (12 GPs), Jarama
(9), Jerez (5), Montjuic (4) and Pedralbes (2). The first GP to be staged in
Spain, at Pedralbes on 28th October 1951, was won by Argentinian driver Juan
Manuel Fangio in an Alfa Romeo 59.
- The first race on a wet Circuit de Catalunya was on 29th September 1991.
It was won by Nigel Mansell (GBR) in a WilliamsF1-Renault. In pole position
was the BMW Motorsport Director Gerhard Berger (AUT) in a McLaren-Honda.
- WilliamsF1 have claimed a total of six victories at Spanish GPs. The first
was secured by Mansell at Jerez in 1987, and the last to date by Jacques
Villeneuve (CDN) ten years later at the Circuit de Catalunya.
- The 2002 Spanish Grand Prix proved a turbulent one for the BMW WilliamsF1
Team. Following incidents involving both drivers, Juan Pablo Montoya
(starting from fourth) crossed the finish line in second place. Ralf
Schumacher drove the first third of the race in second place before coming
off the track and dropping back to eleventh place, ultimately failing to
finish the race due to an engine fault.
- The winner of last year¹s Spanish GP was Michael Schumacher for Ferrari.
He also claimed pole position (1:16.364 min) and set up a lap record
(1:20.355 min).
- The 2003 Spanish Grand Prix starts at 14:00 hrs local time on Sunday 4th
May. The race will comprise 65 laps of 2.940 miles (4.730 km). The race
distance is 307.324 kilometres(191.003 miles).
Juan Pablo Montoya #3 Ralf Schumacher #4
DOB 20/09/75 - Bogota (COL) 30/06/75 Hürth (DEU)
Nationality Colombian German
Residence Monte Carlo (MCO) Salzburg (AUT)
Marital status Married to Connie Married to Cora, one son (David)
Height 1.68 m 1.78 m
Weight 72 kg 73 kg
F1 debut 2001, Melbourne 1997, Melbourne
GP starts 38 104
Poles 10 1
Wins 1 (01 ITA) 4 (01 SMR, CAN, DEU, 02 MYS)
Points (total) 91 190
Points 2003 10 (8th) 13 (6th)
Fastest laps 6 6
2003 Qualifying Race Qualifying Race
Australian GP 3 2 9 8
Malaysian GP 8 12 17 4
Brazilian GP 9 DNF 6 7
San Marino GP 4 7 2 4
Paddock Media Briefings:
Thursday
14:00-14:30 RS (TVs followed by print media) - HP motorhome
14:30-15:00 JPM (TVs followed by print media) - HP motorhome
15:00 Patrick Head - FIA press conference - Media Centre
Friday
15:45 RS (five minutes of TV interviews) - motorhome
16:00 JPM - FIA press conference - Media Centre
19:00 Launch of the Merchandising Collection (Barcelona -
Torre de Telefonica, Montjuic ('Calatrava') - c/Pierre de Coubertin s/nº
Montaña de Montjuïc
All F1 media with permanent accreditation are very welcome
Saturday
5 minutes after Qualifying 5 minutes of TV interviews (both drivers) -
motorhome
16:30-16:45 JPM (TVs followed by print media) - HP motorhome
first 15 minutes in English, then Spanish
17:00-17:30 RS (TVs followed by print media) - BMW motorhome
17:30-18:00 Patrick Head / Mario Theissen (print media only) - BMW motorhome
18:30 Paddock Club - presentation of the Allianz Safety
Dictionary with Frank Williams & Patrick Head
Sunday
30 minutes after Race Sam Michael available for media questions (15
minutes)
WilliamsF1 motorhome
