WilliamsF1 2006 United States Grand Prix Preview
US Grand Prix
By WilliamsF1 Team
June 28 2006
After just a one week break the WilliamsF1 team returns to racing this time at the Indianapolis circuit for the US GP. For Mark Webber the race is one in which the team has come come away with a good result. For Nico Rosberg he has to cope with the demands of racing at the track for the first time.
| United States Grand Prix: Indianapolis Circuit |
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| Race Preview: |
| The Event The legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the venue for the 10th round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, the United States Grand Prix, the second North American race in succession. Constructed in 1909 from 3.2 million bricks (hence the nickname “the Brickyard”), Indianapolis has nearly a century of motorsport history and is also the largest spectator sporting facility in the world. Despite its iconic status in the States as host to the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400, Indianapolis only debuted on the Formula One calendar in 2000. With just five starts to date at the Brickyard, the WilliamsF1 Team will be seeking to capitalise on the inherent pace of the FW28 which was frustrated at last weekend’s race in neighbouring Canada. Between the races Despite the American back-to-back not affording the team’s drivers much downtime between races, Mark and Alex will join the Discovery Channel Pro Am Cycling team for three days at their training camp in Colorado Springs immediately after the Canadian GP. The pair will participate in a special cycling meets motorsports athlete testing and training programme alongside two cyclists from the Discovery team, Tom Danielson and Jason McCartney, as well as three NASCAR drivers, Carl Edwards, Bobby Labonte and David Ragan. Meanwhile, Nico Rosberg turns 21 on Tuesday and will celebrate the occasion with his parents in the States before heading to Indianapolis on Wednesday. Making the car go faster Without time for a test session before the US Grand Prix, the team head to Indianapolis this weekend armed with data collated from recent test sessions and the updated components which were run on both FW28s in Canada. Indianapolis from a technical perspective Located in the state capital of Indiana, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the oldest motor racing circuit in the world but experienced major modifications in 1998 to accommodate Formula One, including reconstruction work to the original oval layout to incorporate an infield section. The drivers now negotiate 73, 2.6 mile laps consisting of 13 turns, nine right and four left, and some of the longest straights on the calendar. Similar to Montréal, Indy is a power circuit which demands a medium downforce set-up, but its rhythm is broken by the twisty infield area where, contrastingly, good traction is key. Inevitably, finding a balance between the two will therefore be the challenge that the drivers and their engineers will face over the weekend. Engine power is undoubtedly rewarded at this revered circuit which sees the cars reach 335km/h and endure 55% of the lap at full throttle. With such events lasting up to 23 seconds, the longest seen over the season, engines must be able to withstand the extremes of thermal and mechanical pressures. The unique nature of the oval’s 9° banking also places certain loadings on the tyres. Combined with an intense build up of heat from the high speed straights, reliable, softer rubber which offers grip in the infield section is critical to complete the challenge of one of America’s finest institutions. Mark Webber: |
KEY RACE DATA Race distance/laps 4.192kms 73 laps = 306.016kms Local race start time Local: 13.00, GMT: 17.00 2005 fastest lap M Schumacher, Ferrari 1:11.497 2005 pole sitter J Trulli, Toyota 1:10.625 2005 race winner M Schumacher, Ferrari 2005 winning tyre Bridgestone Pit-stop schedule 1 stop: Laps 40 - 50 2 stops: Laps 23 – 28, 47 - 52 3 stops: Laps 18 – 23, 34 – 38, 50 - 55 WILLIAMS AT INDIANAPOLIS Car Wins Poles Fastest Laps 2004 2005 WILLIAMS PERFORMANCE STATISTICS 2006
Mark Webber Nico Rosberg
GP Result Fastest Pts Result Fastest Pts |
"It will be good to be back
in America this week and I hope that we can put on a good show for the
fans, they deserve it and Formula One needs it. As a team, we also need
to do a lot better than we did in Canada, primarily by benefiting from a
better tyre choice. I think we can be quite strong in Indianapolis,
providing we make the right decisions in our preparations. I like racing
in the US, even if the Speedway was not designed for Formula One cars,
and I respect the history of the track. It’s important that we come home
with some points from these two flyaways."
"Again, Indy is a track I haven’t yet raced at but one which I’ve
learnt on the simulator. It seems to be quite different from the other
circuits due to the very long straight and the banking. It will be
interesting to see what Michelin and Bridgestone will come up with after
what happened last year. I really hope that the fans will come back this
year because I have watched several Indy 500 races on the TV and the
atmosphere is just great with all those huge grandstands packed with
people! For a driver, the bigger the crowd, the better it is!"
"Indianapolis
is a unique circuit, one which has a slow speed infield section followed
by a long straight that goes through the oval, with around 23 seconds of
full throttle time. It is an interesting proposition for the drivers and
the engineers because most of the lap requires maximum downforce while,
for the straight, you want to run as little wing as possible. Minimising
drag on this section will be important. We have analysed all the data
from the last Grand Prix to ensure that we have a strong tyre choice
with Bridgestone and we will take well tested and proven constructions
to cope with the aggressive surface on the banking.
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