The BMW WilliamsF1 Team heads to Indianapolis this week for the second leg of the North American double header, the United States Grand Prix. Following mixed fortunes in Montreal, the team is looking for an improved result at the legendary Brickyard circuit.

Nick Heidfeld:
"I have always liked Indianapolis, I've always had good results there in the past so I'm looking forward to going back there again and hopefully getting another good result for the team. The place itself is outstanding, particularly because of the grandstand in front of the pits. I hope there's another good crowd to give us a great atmosphere. The banking looks spectacular but, for a driver, it is actually quite easy to go flat out there as long as you don't have any problems with the car. We should be a bit stronger in the US than we were in Montreal."

Mark Webber:
"Every time we visit Indianapolis, it's impossible to ignore the fantastic history and atmosphere of the Brickyard, and the world famous Indy 500. It's a place steeped in American motor racing history, but I also think Formula One is growing bigger in the States with every US GP. In fact, I expect the interest will be even greater this year given that this year's championship has so many different contenders and new names are coming to the fore. What always impresses me about racing in the States is just how passionate and educated the audience is about Formula One.

The layout of the circuit isn't the most demanding by any means for either the car, or the driver, because of the repetitive nature of the infield section. But that's why we go to nineteen different venues each year as they all provide very different challenges. Indy is a circuit which generally provides pretty good racing, mainly because the long straight offers the drivers some overtaking opportunities at the end of it."

Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1):
"We are now going to Indy, the second of the North American races, and a circuit similar to Montreal in that it is a low drag level track. The circuit demands one of the longest times on full throttle, at just over 20 seconds from the last corner all the way through the banking and down to Turn 1. The rest of the circuit is dominated by slow speed corners, which means that traction control is crucial. It is also important to have a tyre that can cope with the high loads of the banking while giving good grip in slow speed. The tyres were selected two weeks ago for this Grand Prix, having worked on them with Michelin during our test programme in Europe. In terms of race strategy, Indy is normally a two-stop race, but we'll wait and see what the situation is on tyre degradation and fuel effect after practice."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
"For the BMW P84/5 engines, Indianapolis means maximum mechanical loads. Along the straight of the oval, drivers go flat out for more than 20 seconds. The greatest load is along the second half when the final stretch of the straight demands more than ten seconds of full-throttle driving. Mark and Nick will have new engines for this race, as scheduled.

The US is the biggest export market for BMW. In terms of sales volume, it currently lies in second place behind the German home market. There is a keen interest in the sporty M models here, nowhere else sells as many of the BMW M cars as in the United States."

History and background:

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built in 1909 as a 2.5 mile oval. It earned its enduring nickname "The Brickyard" from the original bricks that were used to surface it. The famous 500 mile race was first held there in 1911.

The Indy 500 runs anti-clockwise on the oval. Formula One, by contrast, runs in a clockwise direction and only uses part of the oval. For the F1 Grand Prix, a narrow, twisty section, featuring eleven corners, was built in the infield area in 2000.

The straight on the oval is the longest on the GP calendar. Along a stretch measuring 1,820 metres, cars run at full throttle for around 20 seconds, of which some ten seconds are taken in seventh gear.

Last year, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team recorded a top racing speed of 351.7 km/h.

This year will be the sixth time that the US Grand Prix has been staged at Indianapolis. Winners, so far, include Michael Schumacher (2000, Ferrari), Mika Hakkinen (2001, McLaren Mercedes), Rubens Barrichello (2002, Ferrari) and Michael Schumacher again (2003 and 2004).

The first US Grand Prix took place at Sebring in 1959 and was won by Bruce McLaren in a Cooper Climax. 1960 saw Formula One move to Riverside and, in the following year, to Watkins Glen where a total of 20 World Championship races were held up to 1980. Between 1976 and 1983, F1 made eight appearances at Long Beach for the USA West Grand Prix. During the 1980s, two F1 races were held in Las Vegas, one in Dallas and seven in Detroit. From 1989 to 1991, Phoenix hosted the US GP. In all, 48 Grands Prix have been held in the USA to date.

WilliamsF1 have won five times in the United States: Alan Jones won at Watkins Glen in 1980 and, in1981, Jones took victory in Las Vegas and Long Beach. In 1984, Keke Rosberg won for Williams in Dallas while, in 1985, Rosberg also won in Detroit. In 1984, Nelson Piquet drove a Brabham BMW to victory in Detroit.

Indianapolis, the capital city of the US state of Indiana, has a population of 860,454. Indianapolis was founded in 1821 and is the twelfth largest city in the USA.

Formula BMW USA will be holding its ninth and tenth races over the Formula One US GP weekend. Formula BMW, which now comprises four championships (Asia, Germany, Britain, USA), allows teenagers to compete in state-of-the-art single- seaters with 140 bhp BMW engines.

2005 United States Grand Prix - Main Page
2005 United States Grand Prix - Team and Driver Preview Page

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