BMW WilliamsF1 Brazilian GP Preview

The track length is 2.678 miles (4.309 km) and the race distance will be 71 laps or 190,124 miles (305,909 km).  The Grand Prix commences at 1400hrs local on Sunday, April 6 – after the
daylight saving time change, this equates to 1800hrs UTC, 1900hrs in Central Europe.

Despite proving extremely quick during testing, and showing flashes of potential including a second place finish for Juan Pablo Montoya in Australia, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team is extremely keen to show its full potential at the forthcoming Grand Prix in Brazil.

Ralf Schumacher:
"I was pleased of course about my recovery from my grid position finish fourth in Malaysia, even though the race showed that we still have a lot of areas to improve. However, Sao Paulo's circuit should suit our package better. The narrow infield should work well with the FW25 and I am therefore very confident. I know first of all I must improve in qualifying, because managing to get the best possible set up of my car in a very short time has always been one of my strengths. It is important to qualify well, as even if the new rules mean a lot can happen during the race, (as in the first two Grands Prix) I cannot always rely on the chance of coming up through the field in the race."

Juan Pablo Montoya:
"The Brazilian GP is something of a home race for me. It's the closest circuit to my home country and usually it is very welcoming to see so many Colombian fans. For the last two years there has been a sea of yellow, blue and red flags which is a pretty inspiring sight. We've done well over the last two years at Interlagos so hopefully we can produce another good result this year. It seems to be a track that suits our package. My intention is to try and make up for the victory that slipped through my hands in 2001, but I expect this will be quite difficult to do. The track is good but bumpy and this makes it quite technical and difficult, especially to find the right set-up, all of which makes it challenging. Add to this the heat and the physical conditions which are increased because it is an anticlockwise circuit, and sure, it’s going to be hard."

Sam Michael WilliamsF1 Chief Operations Engineer:
"Since Malaysia, the team has been testing in Barcelona for the past four days with all three drivers. The team tested tyres and mechanical, engine and aero components, from which we are taking most of the improvements found to Brazil. It was a good test with solid results in all areas.

Interlagos will be an exciting race for everybody as the track layout provides a couple of overtaking opportunities every lap. The circuit is dominated by slow to medium speed corners and straights. There are also two high speed corners followed by short runs to another corner. It’s still quite important to be well set up for these corners as the second to last high speed corner is just before the long main straight. However from a set-up perspective, the circuit is not as bumpy as it used to be after recent resurfacing.

Strategy is always interesting at Interlagos with such a long pit lane but also plenty of overtaking opportunities. The rule changes for this year throw everything into doubt again so it will be interesting to see which direction everyone goes in. We are confident of a strong challenge in Brazil with improvements from testing on all fronts including chassis tyres and engine. The rear wing mounting has also been improved to reduce the change time if we are unfortunate enough to suffer the same eventuality again."

Dr Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
"The Brazilian Grand Prix marks the end of the flyaway ‘marathon’ before the races return to Europe. In Brazil we may face high temperatures similar to the last two races, but for sure lower humidity than in Malaysia. Interlagos lies approximately 800 metres above sea level which means for the engines a loss of approximately eight percent power due to lower air density, but this is obviously the same for everybody. Our BMW P83 engines now have proven reliability under extreme demands during the first two races of the
season and of course we want to continue this consistency. Strong and reliable engines together with WilliamsF1's further development of the FW25 should help us to narrow the gap to the fastest in Sao Paulo."