2007 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
Following Lewis Hamilton’s maiden win at the Canadian
Grand Prix on Sunday, Fernando Alonso, Lewis and Vodafone
McLaren Mercedes now relocate to Indianapolis for the 2007
United States Grand Prix.
Held at the renowned Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the team
arrives at the track still leading the Constructors’
title with a total of 88 points. Ferrari is the closest challenger
with a score of 60 points. Lewis and Fernando head the Drivers’
Championship with 48 and 40 points respectively.
THREE FAST FACTS
How does the team handle the fast oval and slower
infield sections of the track?
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a track of contrasts, with
a long, fast main straight that sees the Formula 1 cars run
at full throttle for 22 seconds and a very tight, twisty infield
section with a number of very slow and tricky corners. For
the infield you need good traction, so the car has to be set-up
to allow for both characteristics with the cars. The high
speed element of the track also includes a very high speed
corner. This leads to a set-up compromise, a low - medium
downforce configuration with relatively soft mechanical set-up
to find the grip for the infield.
When did Formula 1 start racing at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway?
Formula 1 made its return to the United States at the IMS
in 2000, ending a nine year hiatus. Since the inaugural United
States Grand Prix in 1959, Sebring, Riverside, Watkins Glen,
Long Beach, Detroit, Dallas and Phoenix all hosted the event
before it settled in Indianapolis. Built in the early 20th
century, the Motor Speedway was initially a test track for
the motor industry in Detroit. In the forties the track was
asphalted, except a yard of bricks at the start-finish line,
giving rise to the 'Brickyard' nickname. Founder Bruce McLaren
began the team’s history in the race when he took victory
in the first United States Grand Prix in 1959, four years
before the team was formed. Since the team's United States
Formula 1 debut in 1966, McLaren has been the most successful
Formula 1 Constructor, with nine race victories. Mika Hakkinen
secured the team’s most recent win in 2001. The McLaren
marque has also seen success in other American motorsport
events. In the late 60s, McLaren dominated the CAN-AM championship,
winning the title on five occasions. In addition the team
has won the illustrious Indianapolis 500 three time, in 1972
with Mark Donohue and Johnny Rutherford taking victory twice,
in 1974 and 1976. Mercedes-Benz has also won the Indy 500
when Al Unser Jr. took victory in 1994 at the wheel of a Penske-Mercedes.
Where will Fernando and Lewis visit between the Canadian
and United States Grands Prix?
Fernando will remain in Canada before leaving for the Motor
Speedway mid-week. Lewis flew into New York for a couple of
days, before travelling to Indianapolis after having visited
Mercedes-Benz USA in Montvale ExxonMobil in Fairfax.
TEAM QUOTES
Fernando Alonso
"Canada was a tough and frustrating race for me, but
at least I left Montreal with some points and am in a strong
second position in the Championship, which is not won or lost
in one race. I am in a good situation in the table, the car
is great, it is definitely capable of winning races and I
am looking forward to getting back out on track in America
and hopefully having no safety cars. I have not had very good
results in this race in the previous years, it was better
last year than in 2005, so I am hoping it will improve again
this year! It is always great to go racing at Indy, fans at
Indy are fantastic, they are pretty serious about their motor
racing and their passion means there is a great atmosphere.
I hope we are able to go out there and put on a good race
for them. Indy is another of the tracks that I want to win
at, it is so historic and is a very important circuit in this
sport, to have a trophy from there in my collection would
be fantastic. There are opportunities to overtake at the Motor
Speedway, the main one is probably if you slipstream another
car on the start-finish straight, but you need to have a very
fast straightline speed to make this work. This is why we
have such a low level of downforce."
Lewis Hamilton
"It still hasn’t really sunk in that I have won
my first race, it was an amazing weekend for me and it is
fantastic that we are racing again already this weekend. The
Motor Speedway is another tough circuit on the cars, I hope
we are as competitive, but until we get out on the circuit
on Friday we can’t really predict how it is going to
go. I am really excited to be racing at Indianapolis. It is
such a legendary venue, you can’t escape the history
here and I am looking forward to experiencing the atmosphere
for the first time. The track has the unique characteristic
of the banking, but from what I hear it doesn’t have
a massive impact on the cars, but it will be pretty cool!
To be going into race seven of the Championship in the position
I am in is amazing; however it is still early days. This will
be my seventh race and I am very much still learning. There
are 11 more this season including Indy and that is a long
way to go with a lot of hard work ahead. I have enjoyed the
season so far, but am aware racing isn’t predicable
and anything could happen at the next race."
Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula 1, Vodafone McLaren
Mercedes
"After a great weekend for Lewis, we now move to a definite
highlight of the year for the sport, the United States Grand
Prix. It is a very challenging race and we are not in the
position to predict our performance relative to our key competitors.
For Fernando, Lewis and the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team
to be going into race seven of season at the top of both Championships
is a satisfying situation to be in, we are not resting on
our laurels. The pace of work at the McLaren Technology Centre,
Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines and in Stuttgart this
week is as intense as before, if not more so. We are bringing
developments on line for the United States Grand Prix as we
work towards extending the performance gap. This is going
to require a lot of hard and focused work, and we will face
powerful competition from our rivals."
Norbert Haug, Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"The automobile market in the USA is the biggest one
for Mercedes-Benz outside Germany; therefore, it is nice to
arrive in Indianapolis as the leaders in both World Championships.
At this traditional circuit, it is our target to continue
the performance we have shown so far this season. We won three
out of the six races so far, the last two ones in a row, we
achieved ten out of 12 possible podium positions, and we are
the only team to complete all 384 race laps and 1,800 kilometres
with both cars and to score always points with both drivers.
The track layout is challenging and the sector with 22 seconds
of consecutive full throttle is particularly demanding for
the engines. The task for the infield is exactly the opposite
and to be fast you need a good compromise between top speed
and good balance in corners. We are well prepared to match
these requirements.
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY INFORMATION
Circuit length 4.192 km / 2.605 miles
Race distance 306.016 km / 190.139 miles
Laps 73
Number of corners 13
Inaugural US Grand Prix 1959
VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES STATISTICS
Fernando Lewis Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Race Starts 94 6 620
Race Wins 17 1 151
Pole Positions 16 1 127
Points 421 48 3247.5
Podiums 40 6 403
Fastest Laps 10 1 133
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