BMW WilliamsF1 Team: Piquet and Rosberg To Follow in Fathers'
Footsteps
NEWS FROM BMW WILLIAMSF1 TEAM
Piquet and Rosberg To Follow in Fathers' Footsteps
Oxford. 26 November 2003. Nelson Piquet (BRA) and Nico Rosberg (GER) will
both
take part in a forthcoming BMW WilliamsF1 Team test at the Jerez de la
Frontera
circuit in Spain in early December. The two young protégés will join
incumbent drivers
Ralf Schumacher and Marc Gené. The Jerez test will commence on Tuesday 2nd
and
conclude on Thursday 4th December. Piquet will test the FW25 on the 2nd and
the
morning of the 4th while Rosberg will run on the 3rd and in the afternoon of
the 4th.
Rosberg and Piquet were selected for the one-off test roles as part of the
team's ongoing
commitment to developing emerging talent. Sam Michael, Chief Operations
Engineer at
WilliamsF1, highlights the importance of continually evaluating potential
talent. We are
testing with the young drivers to evaluate their ability in an F1 car and
whether or not they
could assist with our testing programme in the future. They have been
working with us
over the last couple of months to ensure they are well prepared for the test
and it's clear
already that both are quite mature in their approach. This is another sign
of WilliamsF1's
contribution to the sport by assisting in the progression of the next
generation of drivers."
The December test will be the inaugural Formula One outing for Piquet. The
young
Brazilian has impressed many industry commentators, particularly this year
while racing
in the British F3 Championship for family-run team, PiquetSports. Piquet
finished his first
season in the series in a respectable third position with six victories and
nine pole
positions to his credit. 2003 also saw Piquet contest the Zandvoort Malboro
Masters. In
his first attempt, the talented Brazilian finished in second place. Prior to
his debut season
in British F3, he won a series of Kart championships as well as winning last
year's South
American F3 Championship. The young Brazilian took the title in dominant
style with an
impressive13 victories from 18 starts, 16 of which were from pole position.
The test will not be the first Formula One experience for 18 year old
Rosberg, however,
who was first invited to test the FW24 last December as a reward for his
outstanding
performance in the Formula BMW ADAC Championship. The reward reflected an
outstanding season in which he secured nine victories out of 20, enough to
claim the
title. At only 17 years old, the German was the youngest driver ever to take
part in a
Formula One test session. Despite his youth, however, Rosberg left a lasting
impression on the team and managed to set a personal best time of 1:21.070
round
the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Since his initial test, Rosberg has
spent the
2003 season racing for Team Rosberg in the Formula 3 Euro Series. By the end
of the
season, he had claimed one race win and finished the year in 8th place in
the
Championship.
Piquet and Rosberg are not unfamiliar names in Formula One circles. Keke
Rosberg,
Nico's father, raced for WilliamsF1 from 1982 to 1985, winning all five of
his career
victories with the team and claiming his sole Drivers' title in the Williams
Ford in his first
season. Nelson Piquet Snr, Nelson's father, is another motor racing legend
who drove a
Williams Honda in 1986 and 1987. In just two years with the team, Piquet
claimed seven
Grands Prix wins and a Drivers' title. Piquet's achievements that year also
helped the
team secure their third Constructors' Championship. One of Piquet's three
Drivers' titles
was won with BMW in 1983.
The BMW WilliamsF1 Team will issue a statement at the end of the test on
Thursday 4th
December.
Biography: Nico Rosberg
Date and place of birth: 27th June 1985, Wiesbaden (Germany)
Nationality: German
Place of residence: Monaco
Marital status: Single
Family: Father Keke, Mother Sina
Height: 1.78m
Weight: 78kg
Hobbies: Soccer, snowboarding, jet-skiing
First race: September '95, Golf-Juan go-kart race
First win: '96 Regional Côte d'Azur mini-kart
Championship
Career Highlights:
1996 Regional Côte d'Azur mini-kart Champion
1997 French mini-kart Champion
1998 North American ICA Junior Karting Champion
1999 Runner-up, Italian ICA Junior Karting
Championship
4th ICA Junior European Karting
Championship
2000 Runner up, Formula A European Karting
Championship
2001 Competed in Super A World Karting
Championship
2002 Formula BMW ADAC Champion, secured nine
victories
2003 8th in F3 Euro-series, 2nd in Rookie
Category, 1 win
For further information on Nico Rosberg, please contact: Rosberg@monaco.mc
Biography: Nelsinho Piquet
Date and place of birth: 25th July 1985, Germany
Nationality: Brazilian
Place of residence: Oxford
Marital status: Single
Family: Father Nelson, Mother Silvia
Height: 1.76m
Weight: 70kg
Hobbies: Water sports, computer games
First race: '93, Brasilia go-kart race
First win: '94, Goiania, Brazil
Career Highlights:
1995 3rd, Junior Kart in Brasilia
1996 3rd, São Paulo Junior Kart
Championship
1997 Brazilian Junior Kart Champion
1998 3rd, Brazilian Junior Kart Champion
1999 Brazilian Graduated Kart Champion
2000 Brazilian Graduated Kart Champion
2001 South American F3 Championship, 1 win
2002 South American F3 Champion, 13 wins,
16 pole
poles
2003 3rd, British F3 Championship, 6 wins,
9 poles
3rd, Korean GP
2nd Zandvoort Marlboro Masters
