Preview, 2006 United States GP
The Renault F1 Team preview of the 2006 United States
GP.
Fernando Alonso
Fernando, what are your feelings on returning to
Indianapolis?
I am excited to be going back. The fans we see there are really
passionate about Formula 1 – they are real motorsport
fans and really interested in everything that is going on.
The atmosphere in the paddock, in the pit-lane and around
the track is fantastic thanks to them, so I am looking forward
to racing there again.
Are you apprehensive about returning to Indy after
last year's events?
This year, it is very important for Formula 1 to have a normal
race in Indy. We have a great opportunity to put on a good
show, and to demonstrate to the American fans that F1 is an
interesting type of racing. To help us grow in America, we
need to give them some excitement, some overtaking, and a
good race.
How easy is overtaking at Indy?
It is a little bit easier than at some other circuits because
we have a great passing opportunity into turn 1 if you can
slipstream another car on the main straight. Straightline
speed is very important at Indy, so we run the car with a
low level of downforce like in Montreal. For the infield section,
you need good traction, so we concentrate on getting those
two very different characteristics from the car.
What will be your aims for the weekend?
I am expecting another really tough battle. It was very close
during the race in Montreal between Renault and McLaren, and
Kimi put a lot of pressure on me all the way through the first
part of the race. I expect it will be similar again this weekend,
because we will be running basically the same cars without
any developments on them. Depending on the tyre situation,
Ferrari will be very competitive too. I have never finished
a race in Indy, so this is another place where I really want
to get on the podium and add a trophy to my collection!
Giancarlo Fisichella
Giancarlo, Indianapolis is one of the biggest names in world
motorsport. What's it like to compete there?
It's fantastic. There is so much history at the Speedway,
and you can feel it every time you go there. This is one of
the big races of the year for Formula 1, and the circuit has
some unique characteristics like the banking, which is very
high speed and different to anything else we encounter all
year. The fans bring a special atmosphere to the circuit as
well, and I think we can have a great weekend in Indy.
The circuit has two very distinct halves –
one that is very high speed, and a tight, twisty infield.
How do you find the right set-up for the car?
It's not easy to get the right balance! You have the high
speed section where you want low drag to be competitive on
the straight and then the infield where, in a perfect world,
you would have maximum downforce to be quick. So the important
thing is to find a good compromise between the two, which
we do by running quite low levels of downforce, and using
soft mechanical settings on the car to get the grip at low
speed.
How do you expect to perform after last weekend in
Montreal?
Canada showed us that we have a very competitive package at
these low downforce circuits. We had both cars on the front
row in qualifying, and we were able to race at the front on
Sunday. I didn't get the result that I wanted after making
a mistake at the start of the race, but I am very confident
that our car will be able to run at the front again this weekend
in Indy. We need to wait and see how the tyre performance
compares before we can predict any results. But we know that
an aggressive approach is needed to carry on beating Ferrari
– and that is what we will have.
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