With no time to return home after the conclusion of the Canadian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing will travel directly to Indianapolis this week, for the start of round nine of the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship, the United States Grand Prix. As the second of two back-to-back long haul events, it will be the second North American race of the season.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway circuit, host of the famous Indy 500 race, is steeped in atmosphere and history. Popular with motorsport fans across the country, the original oval was nicknamed ‘The Brickyard’, after the track’s first surface, of crushed rock and tar was replaced by bricks and mortar in 1909. Asphalt was first laid on the rougher sections of the circuit in 1936 and today the entire surface is smooth tarmac, apart from a yard wide strip of bricks, which still runs across the start-finish line.

Comprising 13 turns, (four left-handed corners and nine right-handed), the track is 4.192 km in length, and the complete 73-lap race distance will be 306.016 km. The track, which has hosted the US Formula One race since 2000, lies 8kms north-west of Indianapolis.

CHRISTIAN HORNER, Sporting Director: “Indianapolis is a circuit steeped in tradition, which usually provides exciting racing, mainly as a result of the overtaking opportunities provided by a fast right hander onto the straight and the tight Turn 1 which is a classic passing point. While the circuit might not be that interesting for the drivers, with an infield that’s a bit like a go-kart track, it produces good races. F1 seems to be gaining US fans all the time and it’s good for the sport to have up and coming American driver, Scott Speed, representing us in Friday’s Free Practice session.”

DAVID COULTHARD (Car 14): “After scoring two points in points in Montreal against expectations, I’m looking forward to the race at Indianapolis. The circuit there is very different to Montreal, it’s not as tough on cars or drivers, so I don’t expect such a high rate of attrition. That means qualifying will be even more important than normal there. Having said that, after coming through from a grid position of twelfth on the last two races, to finish fourth in Nürburgring and to score two points in Montreal, we’ve shown that anything is possible. For Red Bull Racing, scoring points again is important to maintain its battle in the Constructors’ Championship. It’s very open at the moment and our stated ambition going into season was to be amongst the manufacturer backed teams, which is what we’re achieving. As for the race itself, you never know, but as we showed in Monaco and Germany this year, Red Bull Racing is capable of being up there.“

CHRISTIAN KLIEN (Car 15): “There are always a lot of spectators in America and the event has a good atmosphere, so on that side of things it’s a good race. In terms of the circuit, it’s not the most exciting in the Championship. There’s a long straight where you go flat out for about 20 seconds, but the infield is very slow. It’s not such a technical track and there aren’t really any corners that stick out in my mind. But I enjoyed being there last year, although I didn’t finish the race. I had a crash at the first corner, so I certainly hope to do better this year. It’s hard to set definite aims in terms of finishing and grid positions, but I’ll be looking to do a good job for the team and for myself.”

SCOTT SPEED (Friday Test Driver): “My main focus for Indianapolis will be to gain more time in the car, to learn as quickly as possible and fulfil my job for the team. I think the time I spent in the car in Montreal almost doubled the total time I’d ever spent at the wheel of an F1 car. At the moment, it’s all about getting used to the car’s set-up, as it’s so different to anything else I’ve driven. The main difference is the amount of aero-performance, as the F1 car is far more sensitive. Competing in the GP2 series on grooved tyres has helped me with my main job for the team, which is providing feedback to help them assess the different tyres. A lot of people think there might be some pressure on me, but the amount of pressure I put on myself outweighs anything else that the situation creates – I just concentrate on the job in hand. I’m flying to Nice after Canada to complete a GP2 test, before flying to Indianapolis for Friday’s Free Practice session. To drive an F1 car in my home country will be such a thrill, I can’t wait to get back in the driving seat.”

GÜNTHER STEINER, Technical Director: “In Indianapolis, the set-up of the car is a compromise between finding high-speed on the flat out straight, while enabling the driver to attack through the slower infield section. It’s all down to the aerodynamic set-up and we’ll be analysing the car to see how it will work best for the race. There are two possible strategies for Indianapolis. One option is to set up the car with high down force so it’s quick on the infield, but slower on the high-speed section, while the other is to set the car up with less wing so it’s faster on the high speed straight, but requires the driver to cope with deficiencies through the in-field section. As planned at the start of the year, we will be introducing an engine upgrade at this event – the Cosworth Series 12 engine. We’ve completed two engine development track tests, as well as lots of dyno endurance testing, so it’s looking good for the race.”

SIMON CORBYN, Head of Cosworth F1 Race Engineering: “The introduction of the TJ2005 Series 12 engine at the Indianapolis GP represents a tremendous achievement for Cosworth. This upgrade is a further step along a two-year development programme to deliver the benchmark F1 engine. The engine has been delivered on schedule and has achieved its performance and reliability targets. In qualifying for Indy GP we will have an increase of 30BHP & 700RPM - these represent the biggest gains Cosworth have ever achieved on a mid-season upgrade. Hopefully the Series 12 will allow Red Bull to build on the excellent results already achieved this season with the Cosworth TJ2005 engine.”

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

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