BMW WilliamsF1 Team-British GP-Preview
British Grand Prix 18/19/20 July 2003 PREVIEW The BMW WilliamsF1 Team head to their home Grand Prix at Silverstone next weekend hopeful of another dominant race performance. With a pair of one - two victories secured in eight consecutive days at Nürburgring and Magny-Cours, the team is now only three points behind Ferrari in the fight for the Constructors' Championship and is looking to steal the advantage. The team completed an intensive testing programme at the Circuit de Catalunya this week, with the primary objective of securing an optimum set up for the British Grand Prix. The team also supported tyre partner Michelin with their development work, in order to keep the BMW WilliamsF1 Team ahead of the field prior to the testing ban. Ralf Schumacher: "WilliamsF1's home race is a special event for the whole team but this year¹s race is going to be even more special following our recent victories. After Magny-Cours, the team¹s mood is particularily buoyant but we can¹t afford to be complacent the victories are the team¹s rewards for having worked so hard over the past months but we know we need to continue developing the package. Consequently, we¹ve been testing various set up configurations as well as completing tyre evaluations in Barcelona this week so we should be well prepared for Silverstone. "The car is quick on a variety of circuit layouts so we should be able to produce a good result at Silverstone, as long as the British weather is kind to us, to do this would be great at our home Grand Prix. The track combines a good mixture of slow, medium and fast corners and has three straights where overtaking is possible. I am looking forward to Silverstone, as the car always seems to run well in both races and testing. In 1999 I achieved third place but I would be very pleased to do better this year!" Juan Pablo Montoya: "The majority of teams spend a lot of time testing at Silverstone so most of the drivers could drive the track blindfolded! The last time we were there we managed to set some encouraging times so we¹re fairly confident for next weekend's race. Furthermore, I¹ve collected some valuable points in the past couple of races at Silverstone, with a third and a fourth. However, it is a very different circuit from both the Nürburgring and Magny-Cours where we have performed so well in the past two weeks. It would be great to keep this momentum going though, epsecially as it is WilliamsF1Œs home Grand Prix. We are very aware that weather conditions will play an influential role over the weekend. It is not unusual to get a lot of wet running during the British GP weekend, which doesn¹t really suit our tyres too much but we are definitely aiming for more podium positions." Sam Michael (WilliamsF1, Chief Operations Engineer): "The team is very much looking forward to going to Silverstone this year and hopefully maintaining our current strong form. The test team have been at Barcelona since our last win at Magny-Cours and their hard work has enabled Michelin and BMW WilliamsF1 to push the tyre programme forward again before the test ban. So far, we are the only team to have scored points in every race this year, an achievement that is only possible through extensive testing to ensure reliability, and something we hope to continue. "Silverstone is an interesting track with a mix of high speed corners, three straights, where power and drag are important, and a slow speed complex to finish off the lap. Aero efficiency is therefore critical and the set-up of the car has to be geared towards optimising high speed stability whilst not losing too much grip in the complex. Strategies are becoming more exciting with every Grand Prix, with the teams pushing themselves towards multi-stops. This is an advantage for us as we are as strong as ever in the pitstops. "Overtaking is not impossible at Silverstone, so it should be an interesting race for the drivers and the fans where we are looking to secure the lead in the ConstructorsŒ Championship ahead of Ferrari." Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): "Without a doubt we¹re extremely happy with our recent results, we¹re especially pleased that the team can approach WilliamsF1¹s home race in such a strong position. However, we¹re only too aware of how quickly the balance of power can shift in Formula One - one day you can be at the top, the next you can be fighting mid-field. Consequently, we¹ve done very little celebrating and just continued working hard at the factories in Grove and Munich as well as completing an intensive testing programme at Barcelona. "At Silverstone, the team has the opportunity to take the lead in the Constructors¹ Championship and we will be pulling out all the stops to achieve that. So far, the BMW P83 engine has been excellent, not just in terms of its performance, but also as far as its reliability is concerned. Silverstone circuit has a few high speed corners, so aerodynamics will play a crucial role, but it is also a challenging track for the engine. Last year, Juan Pablo took pole for the team, but in the race itself we struggled with the rain which is always a worry at the British Grand Prix." Facts and figures - Silverstone circuit has been modified several times since the first Grand Prix took place there in 1950, this year¹s Grand Prix will be the 37th to be held on the circuit. Other British Grands Prix have been staged at Aintree (five) and Brands Hatch (twelve). Three European Grands Prix have also been held in England at Brands Hatch in 1983 and 1985 and at Donington Park in 1993. - In recent years, major improvements have been made to the circuit¹s infrastructure. Following the rain-soaked Grand Prix in 2000, modifications to the circuit¹s access roads and car parks have been made as well as a host of other alterations to improve the site for the paying public. - The current Grand Prix circuit covers 5.141 kilometres. The race distance (60 laps) is 308.355 kilometres. - Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) holds the lap record, set in 2002, with a time of 1:23.083 minutes. - Juan Pablo Montoya claimed pole position in 2002 for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team with a time of 1:18.998 minutes, the fifth of seven poles for the Colombian last season. Ralf Schumacher started from fourth place on the grid. Changeable weather conditions produced a great stage for some great racing. Both BMW WilliamsF1 Team drivers drove a faultless race: Montoya, despite running on inferior wet-weather tyres, finished in third place whilst team mate Ralf Schumacher was heading for fourth when a faulty fuel rig during his pit stop pushed him back into eighth place. Michael Schumacher secured victory ahead of his Ferrari team mate Barrichello. - Silverstone is an important race for WilliamsF1 as it is the team¹s home Grand Prix. It has also been the location for a number of significant milestones for the team: On 14th July 1979 the team celebrated its maiden F1 victory with Clay Regazzoni behind the wheel of the FW07. On 13th July 1997 Jacques Villeneuve secured the team¹s 100th Grand Prix victory. WilliamsF1 has claimed eight wins at the Northamptonshire circuit. - The British Grand Prix starts at 13:00 hours, local time, on Sunday 20th July 2003. 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 44 110 Poles 10 4 Wins 2 6 Points (total) 128 230 Points 2003 47 (4th) 53 (3rd) Fastest laps 7 6 2003 Qualifying Race Points Qualifying Race Points Australian GP 3 2 8 9 8 1 Malaysian GP 8 12 0 17 4 5 Brazilian GP 9 DNF 0 6 7 2 San Marino GP 4 7 2 2 4 5 Spanish GP 9 4 5 7 5 4 Austrian GP 3 DNF 0 10 6 3 Monaco GP 3 1 10 1 4 5 Canadian GP 2 3 6 1 2 8 European GP 4 2 8 3 1 10 French GP 2 2 8 1 1 10 The BMW WilliamsF1 Team is currently second in the FIA Formula One World Championship Constructors¹ standings with 100 points.