BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
Brazil takes centre stage this weekend for the much anticipated
2007 FIA World Championship showdown. As three drivers fight
for the Drivers’ crown, this weekend’s race promises
to be the most compelling of the season. São Paulo’s
Interlagos track is the venue, with the Carlos Pace Autodromo
celebrating its 25th anniversary in Formula One, having welcomed
the sport for the first time in 1973. With the battle for
the other Championship positions still on-going, AT&T
Williams will be drawing on a wealth of experience attained
in Brazil. The team has won one in five of all Brazilian Grand
Prix entered, set 34% of all fastest laps and secured one
in three pole positions.
Nico Rosberg
Interlagos is a great circuit and I am looking forward to
it. It’s a cool track, with a variety of corners and
surface undulations. The past two races have been difficult,
so I hope to finish the season well and to hold on to my present
position in the Drivers’ Championship. São Paulo
is also a place where you can have some fun in the evenings,
so I would imagine it’s going to be a good weekend.
I am going to Rio de Janeiro first for a PR day with Petrobras,
so I’ll get to São Paulo early on in the week.
It’s fantastic for Formula One to have a three-way battle
for the Championship going into the last race of the season,
which is not a situation that happens very often. Personally,
I hope Lewis manages to win because he deserves it.
Kazuki Nakajima
I’m obviously feeling really excited about my first
Formula One race. I’ve never driven at Interlagos before,
so I’ve been doing lots of preparation work in the team’s
simulator at Grove. I’ve also ramped up my training
in the gym to help me cope with the pressures on my neck because
it’s an anti-clockwise track. It looks like it’s
going to rain over the weekend, so the weather is going to
make the whole process quite tricky. I’m trying not
to put any pressure on myself though. I’m going to take
it at my own pace, work through each session step by and step
and, above all, just enjoy it.
Sam Michael, Technical Director, Williams F1
Interlagos is a well laid out track. It has a lot
of gradient changes over the lap and two long straights which
are crucial for overtaking. The performance of the car in
the corners that precede the straights is the most important
consideration when it comes to car setup. Lying 750 metres
above sea level, São Paulo has the lowest ambient pressures
of any circuit that we race at. With pressures around 930mbar,
we lose around 8% of our normal downforce. Drag is also reduced
by around 8%, but so is engine power, so top speeds remain
the same.
The grid line up is traditionally tight due to the low fuel
penalty and short lap time. Coupled with a long pit lane,
the strategy is a close call between a one and a two stop
strategy so we will see a mix of both on race day. Bridgestone
are bringing the Soft and Super Soft tyres to the race, but
we may not get to use them as the forecast is currently predicting
rain all weekend.
As this is the last race of the 2007 season, we will be pushing
hard to claim points in the Constructors’ Championship.
We have had two races in a row where we haven’t scored
points due to various circumstances, but we are aiming to
change that in Brazil. Alex Wurz has retired and we thank
him again for all his hard work in developing the FW29 and
contributing to the Constructors’ points for AT&T
Williams this year. He is a great guy to work with and we
wish him well for the future. As a result of Alex’s
retirement, Kazuki will be in the car in Brazil making his
Formula One debut. It’s a big weekend for him as part
of his next stage of development.
Interlagos Circuit, São Paulo, Brazil
The 71 lap Brazilian Grand Prix will be a true test of durability,
heightened by the fact that the race is run in an anti-clockwise
direction. The 4.3km circuit consists of 13 medium and slow
speed corners, nine left and four right, and has a blend of
long, fast straights and gradient changes. With such a varied
layout, set-up compromises are inevitable, and the challenge
lies in achieving optimal aerodynamic efficiency around the
lap. Interlagos is a notoriously bumpy circuit, so not only
is it draining on the drivers, but the cars must have a good
mechanical balance for driveability. Combined with the bumps,
the track is also particularly abrasive, so harder compound
tyres must be selected to ensure their survival. Engines are
also under intense pressure in Brazil, with the long straights
demanding extensive periods at full throttle and high revs,
while the high altitude and thinning air saps approximately
8% of overall power around the lap. Plenty of overtaking opportunities,
combined with the area’s unpredictable weather conditions,
will only enhance what is always an entertaining spectacle
in Brazil.
KEY RACE DATA
RACE DISTANCE / LAPS
4.309kms / 2.677 miles. 71 laps = 305.909kms /190.067 miles
RACE START TIME Local: 14.00, GMT: 16.00
2006 FASTEST LAP M Schumacher, Ferrari: 1:12.162
2006 POLE SITTER F Massa, Ferrari: 1:10.680
2006 RACE WINNER F Massa, Ferrari
PIT-STOP SCHEDULE
1 Stop: 39 - 43
2 Stops: 24 – 28, 44 - 47
3 Stops: 14 – 19, 35 – 39, 52 - 58
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