Motorsport Store | Formula 1 News - April 2005 |
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15 April: San Marino Grand Prix Preview - Williams BMW The San Marino Grand Prix marks the start of the European season, and after the uncharacteristic first three races of the year, Imola is a more representative circuit in more usual climatic conditions. Given the normalisation of the racing conditions, the Grand Prix will provide a more accurate form guide for the teams for the next batch of races and the BMW WilliamsF1 Team will hope that its continuous stream of car developments over the past three months will start to show in competitive form on the track. Mark Webber: Nick Heidfeld: Sam
Michael (Technical Director WilliamsF1): Imola has medium to high speed corners, a couple of chicanes and heavy braking that the car and driver have to deal with. It is also important to have good curb riding ability without compromising high speed stability, both of which are strengths of the FW27. As usual, we have an aerodynamic upgrade package that will improve the car again to help us compete at the front. We will also have two new tyre choices that we have worked on with Michelin during tests. Imola is softer on tyres compared to the race circuits we have just been to, however as the FW27 has not been close to the limits on tyre wear at the first three GP's, we have gone to even softer compounds again. Due to the shorter pitlane the fuel strategy for the race could be slightly different in Imola. We are looking to maintain our strong qualifying performance that has enabled us to be one of the few teams to improve position on Sunday morning with race fuel load onboard. Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): With its uphill sections Imola is demanding for the engines. Like most of the field, Mark Webber will be starting with the engine that has been already extremely stressed in the heat of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Nick Heidfeld by contrast will be starting in San Marino with a new engine. We expect weekend temperatures at around 20°C, which means much more reasonable thermal stress compared to recent races. Logistically, many elements of the race weekend are easier with the start of the European season. Travelling is less time consuming, with less reliance on 'living out of suitcases' and freight boxes because we have the trucks and motorhomes in the paddock. For the mechanics and engineers, these mobile work shops and offices are a significant help. Stats and facts: Circuit/Date:
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari/24th April 2005 History and background: On the 15th of April in 2001, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team celebrated the debut win of the partnership at Imola. It was also Ralf Schumacher's first Formula One victory. Since 1987, WilliamsF1 has claimed eight wins at Imola. Races at Imola are run in an anti-clockwise direction. Anti-clockwise races are slowly gaining in popularity, with Istanbul joining Interlagos. Imola's motor sport history dates back to the 1940s when the town's races were held on public roads. It wasn't until 1950 that work began to construct a permanent race track. Work was finally completed in 1952. Formula One made its debut in Imola on 21st April 1963. Jim Clark, in a Lotus, claimed the first win, although the race was not an official round of the Formula One World Championship. Formula One did not return to Imola for a further fifteen years after the inaugural race but, on 19th September 1979, the sound of Formula One returned for the Dino Ferrari Grand Prix. Imola has hosted a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship every year since the Italian Grand Prix was staged there on 14th September 1980. With two races held in Italy from 1981 onwards, Imola's race became known as the 'San Marino' Grand Prix. In total, Imola has hosted 24 Formula One World Championship races. After the tragic accidents in 1994, when Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna died on April 30th and 1st of May respectively, the circuit's lay-out has been significantly changed in the interests of safety. In 1988, the circuit was officially named "Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Imola." In 1970, the circuit was first dedicated to Dino Ferrari. His father's name was added after his death. Imola has a population of approximately 65,000, is situated in the Emilia Romagna region and located in the province of Bologna. The Republic of San Marino, after which the Grand Prix is named, covers an area of just 60 square kilometres and lies to the southeast of Imola. 2005 San Marino Grand Prix - Main Page Latest Formula 1 News from Williams BMW: Williams confirm Wurz and Rosberg for 2007 (02/08/2006) More news from BMW Williams F1
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