BELGIAN GRAND PRIX - POST RACE SUMMARY
GRID STOPS, LAP BEST LAP RESULT
NICO ROSBERG P5 14, 30 1.49.769 (9th, lap 29) P6
ALEX WURZ P15 21, 32 1.51.270 (18th, lap 18) DNF
SYNOPSIS
The AT&T Williams team had a productive Belgian Grand
Prix in spite of a number of challenges faced over the race
weekend. In the final analysis, however, Nico Rosberg continued
his four race run of points finishes, collecting three points
and assisting the team to close the gap to Renault ahead of
them while extending the advantage to Red Bull behind.
Nevertheless, the prospects for a favourable outcome seemed
limited at the start of the race meeting when the team struggled
to find satisfactory levels of car optimisation during the
two Friday practice sessions. While routine systems checks
had been carried out at the Spa test some two months before,
the aero changes between the low downforce configuration required
in Monza to the differing demands of the Spa circuit, plus
a number of mechanical upgrades and the all-important need
to determine wing levels meant that the engineers had many
variables to assess and optimise.
Overnight on Friday Nico’s FW29 had a scheduled engine
change while Alex’s Toyota RVX-07 powerplant was retained
for its second race.
On Saturday morning, having worked hard with the engineers
overnight, both drivers were immediately more comfortable
in the car and this showed in more competitive lap times.
However, during the session, Alex was losing some top speed
to Nico, so the engineers tried a lower rear wing level on
his car. While performance in the speed traps was improved,
the change cost too much across sector two and the original
wing level was reinstated, which also provided the higher
downforce required by a larger fuel load should the team opt
to run Alex on a one-stop strategy.
In qualifying, Nico progressed into Q3 and made good use
of his resources by preserving tyres at the necessary points
during the sessions and taking tows when he could find them,
and qualified behind the two Ferraris and McLarens in fifth
place. Alex’s afternoon finished at the end of the Q2
session, with the Austrian provisionally starting the race
in P16, although he already knew he would be promoted to P15
as one of the BMW’s required an unscheduled engine change.
The intended Sunday plan was to two-stop Nico with a short
first stint. Although a one-stop mathematically was only a
couple of seconds slower, it is a more difficult strategy
as the fuel load burden has a negative impact on tyre management.
Alex, by contrast, would be fuelled for a one-stop given his
likely position in traffic and the freedom to add fuel as
required.
The race was relatively straightforward with the intelligent
application of Nico’s strategy allowing him to beat
Kovalainen and Webber, albeit staying ahead of Heidfeld was
never a realistic expectation as the BMW was only sixth on
the grid because of its larger fuel burden. Alex’s one-stop
plan was altered during the course of the race when his car
began to show fuel pressure dropouts. The pitwall decided
to call him in early to see if the addition of fuel might
recover the situation, which it briefly did for six or seven
laps, but then the problem manifested itself again, and a
second unscheduled stop to overfuel the car was again called
to see if this might provide a fix.
In the event, the team decided to retire Alex’s car
on lap 34 as the problem could not be cured. The decision
to pre-emptively call the car in rather than risking damage
to the engine means that the failure could be effectively
identified and investigated, a process which is currently
ongoing.
TYRES & FUEL
Nico followed the preferred tyre selection of most two-stoppers
by running medium, medium, soft in the three stints, whereas
Alex’s modified strategy saw him run medium, soft, medium
tyres. Initially Alex was fuelled to over the halfway point
of the race before his strategy was amended.
SYSTEMS & RELIABILITY
The fuel pressure problem of Alex’s car contributed
to the third mechanical retirement that the team has suffered
from 28 car starts this season.
NEXT EVENTS
The team is testing in Jerez on 18-20 of September prior to
departing for Asia the following week for back-to-back races
in Japan and China.
SAM MICHAEL
“The outcome of the race was good in terms of the Championship,
which is the ultimate objective. However, we have been very
focused around restoring our reliability this season, so some
aspects of the weekend were a little disappointing. As much
as look into the problem that caused Alex’s retirement,
we also have an ongoing development plan to bring more to
the car as the margins between 3rd, 4th and 5th place in the
Championship could turn on a race, so we need to be doing
our level best to collect as many points as possible in the
next three Grands Prix
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