BMW Sauber F1 Team - USA Grand Prix - Preview
Preview.
Munich/Hinwil, 10th June 2007. After achieving the best overall
result in the short history of the BMW Sauber F1 Team at the
Canadian Grand Prix with second for Nick Heidfeld, in just
a week's time the next race, the US Grand Prix, will take
place.
PLEASE NOTE
All statements in this preview have been made prior to race
day in Montreal. Therefore, Robert Kubica's accident has not
been taken into account. It will only be on Thursday in Indianapolis
that a decision can be taken whether the Pole will be able
to drive alongside Nick Heidfeld.
Nick Heidfeld:
"I like it when race tracks have a distinctive character,
and that's definitely the case with Indianapolis. The Speedway
is an icon of American motor racing, and the high-banked turn
is something special for Formula One, although it isn't exactly
challenging for the drivers to drive flat out in a straight
line. It's far more difficult to get the car's set-up just
right. You have to find the right compromise so as to be as
fast as possible along the almost two-kilometre full-throttle
stretch, yet still have enough downforce for the many corners
in the twisty infield.
"My memories of Indy are very varied. In 2001 I managed
a sixth-placed finish there with Sauber, although I had lost
my first, second and, most crucially, seventh gear. That was
one of my best races. A less pleasant memory is the accident
in 2006. We had done well in qualifying, but shortly after
the start I was involved in a collision and turned over for
the first and, hopefully, last time in my career."
Robert Kubica:
"Indy is the second race of our trip overseas and I really
don't have any special feeling in my mind for the track. There
are long straights, which are punctuated by the last corner
which is banked, and then you come into a part where it is
very slow. You have to have the right configuration between
high speed and slow corners. I think it is a good track for
our cars."
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director:
"Indianapolis is a special occasion for Formula One.
The Speedway is renowned the world over and symbolises American
motor sport like no other race track.
"For the BMW Group the USA Grand Prix is of key importance
insofar as the United States is our biggest market. We sell
more cars there than in Germany and also have our biggest
production sites outside Germany.
"Another superlative that Indy can claim is in the mechanical
loads exerted on the engines. Drivers go flat out for 23 seconds,
most of it in seventh gear. That takes the units to the limit
of their performance. In the past, BMW has lost a lot of points
in Indianapolis as a result of accidents. From that point
of view, my hope is above all for a collision-free weekend."
Willy Rampf, Technical Director:
"The Indianapolis Speedway is fundamentally different
from the circuit at Montreal, yet both tracks demand a medium
downforce level. In Indy that is the result of a tricky compromise.
On the oval section you have a 1,860-metre full-throttle section
- the longest flat-out stretch to date on the whole F1 calendar.
To achieve maximum top speed, you would want to take the Indy
oval with a very low wing setting and minimal drag. But with
a low-downforce package of the kind we use in Monza, there
wouldn't be nearly enough downforce for the 11 turns in the
Indianapolis infield section. If you haven't got sufficient
braking stability and traction in these corners, you lose
more time than can be gained on the straights. In the infield,
where you shift down all the way to first, you want the maximum
possible downforce, similar to Monaco or Budapest.
"These radically different demands made by the oval
and the infield section turn set-up work at Indy into a fine
balancing act. In 2006 we made quite a good job of it. For
the race, it is also worth noting that there are passing opportunities
at the end of the straights. And the transition to the infield
the track is so wide that it can accommodate a number of possible
lines."
History and background:
The BMW Sauber F1 Team will be packing up all its kit on
Sunday evening in Montreal. Counting in the race cars, spare
parts, pit equipment and tools, all the way to the kitchen
crockery, it amounts to more than 30 tonnes in weight. On
Sunday night 60 trucks will hit the road with the entire Formula
One consignment on board. On Monday evening they will arrive
at Indianapolis, 1,400 kilometres away. By then the team,
travelling together on a charter flight from Canada to the
USA on Monday, will already be in place and poised to start
setting everything up and preparing the cars.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built in 1909 as a 2.5-mile
oval. Its enduring nickname "Brickyard" derives
from the bricks that were used in its construction. 1911 saw
the inauguration of the famous 500-mile race associated with
the track.
For the Indy 500, cars race on the oval in a counter-clockwise
direction. Formula One, on the other hand, runs clockwise
and uses only part of the oval. This particular section forms
a 1,860-metre full-throttle stint which contrasts with the
twisty infield section of the circuit specially built for
the debut appearance of Formula One in 2000.
In 2007, Formula One will mark its eighth USA Grand Prix
there in succession. The first USA Grand Prix was held in
Sebring in 1959 and was won by Bruce McLaren in a Cooper Climax.
1960 saw F1 move to Riverside, then to Watkins Glen the following
year, where a total of 20 World Championship races were held
up until 1980. Between 1976 and 1983, Formula One also made
eight appearances at Long Beach for the Grand Prix USA-West.
The 1980s also featured two F1 events in Las Vegas, one in
Dallas and seven in Detroit. From 1989 to 1991 Phoenix played
host to the USA GP. The 2005 Indianapolis race went down in
history after just six cars took part due to tyre problems.
Indianapolis, the capital of the US state of Indiana, has
a population of over 860,000. The 12th largest city in the
USA, it was planned on the drawing board and founded in 1821.
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