Williams F1 Friday Practice Review


By Williams F1 Team
July 11 2009

 
 Williams German GP Friday Practice
Objectives P1
• Mechanical set-up and analysis of new aero components

Objectives P2
• Performance evaluation for qualifying and the race
 
Nico Rosberg: Nico Rosberg
 "There is not too much to report today aside from the issue we have had with tyre warm-up which could continue until the weather improves. The forecast seems to suggest the temperatures will increase. The wind today also made it difficult to find an absolute direction, so with positive conditions, we know we have quite a lot of possible improvement. We have also changed the way we approach Friday practice, so we do not expect to be top of the time sheets. On the long run side, we did however make some very clear progress for the race."

Runs P1: Run 1 new prime (1 Lap) install, run 2 scrubbed prime (8 laps) baseline, run 3 scrubbed prime (6 laps) mechanical set-up, run 4 scrubbed prime (5 laps) aero.
Runs P2: Run 1 scrubbed prime (1 lap) install, run 2 new prime (10 laps) tyre compare, run 3 new option (10 laps) tyre compare, run 4 new option (3 laps) qualifying practice, run 5 scrubbed option (2 laps) mechanical setup)
Kazuki Nakajima: Nakajima
 "The weather made it a bit of an odd day today. We are expecting conditions to be a bit better tomorrow, hopefully a little more consistent, so I think we need to be a bit patient and wait to see how it looks. Of course it is my first time here in an F1 car, and while I didn’t find the track especially easy, it certainly was interesting and enjoyable."

Runs P1: Run 1 new prime (1 Lap), install, run 2 scrubbed prime (7 laps) baseline, run 3 scrubbed prime (6 laps) mechanical set-up, run 4 scrubbed prime (5 laps) aero
Runs P2: Run 1 scrubbed prime (2 laps) baseline (aborted due to rain), run 2 new prime (4 laps) tyre compare, run 3 new option (4 laps) tyre compare, run 4 scrubbed option (4 laps) race balance on scrubbed tyres, run 5 new option (7 laps) mechanical set-up)
 
Sam Michael Technical Director WilliamsF1:
 Sam Michael"We worked through our programme, even though there was a little rain about this afternoon. It was pretty difficult given the gusty wind conditions today and with the track being cold, it was a challenge to generate the temperature to get the tyres up to the optimum grip level as quickly as possible. However, we managed to compare both tyres and check all the new aero parts we have on the car here. Overnight we will get our heads down and work on the set-up for tomorrow."
 
Practice Results: Top Three Drivers
 
Position Driver & Lap Time (Session 1) Driver & Lap Time (Session 2)
1 M Webber 1:33.082 L Hamilton 1:32.149
2 J Button 1:33.463 S Vettel 1:32.331
3 F Massa 1:33.745 J Button 1:32.369
 
AT&T Williams Classification
 
Driver Chassis & Engine 1st Session Lap time 2nd Session Lap time
N Rosberg FW31-03/H454 1:33.902 (7th) 26 laps 1:33.128 (13th) 34 laps
K Nakajima FW31-04/H455 1:33.952 (9th) 25 laps 1:32.872 (9th) 32 laps
 
Practice Conditions
 
  Session 1 Session 2
Weather Thick low cloud Cloud, occasional rain
Air Temp 10 - 12C 12 - 13C
Track Temp 14 - 23C 19 - 24C