Europe stays in the
spotlight this weekend as the teams travel to Germany for the third race
in less than a month. With the Championship in full swing, the classic
Nürburgring takes centre stage for the European Grand Prix, this Sunday
22 July. Hosting round ten, and its 37th Formula One event, the track is
located just 80kms south-west of Cologne close to the Belgian border. A
place of pilgrimage for many fans, the Nürburgring has experienced
considerable change over its long history in order to tame the famous
circuit to meet current safety standards. Having originally stretched
through some 14 kilometres of the picturesque Eifel region, the track
now only incorporates five. In last year’s race, Nico Rosberg climbed
from last on the grid to finish seventh in his home race to collect two
points for the team. This year, he’ll be driving in search of further
points, as will team mate Alex Wurz, who will be racing at the track for
the first time for the AT&T Williams team.
Nico Rosberg:
"The European Grand Prix is going to be good. The German fans are
really supportive and I’ll have a lot of friends with me over the
weekend. The track is cool and the car normally goes well there. I’m
really looking forward to turning things around at this race and getting
a good result because we need to start scoring more points. We tested in
Spa last week, which was a great experience in itself because I’ve never
driven the track before in a Formula One car. There was a lot of rain,
but we just slowly worked our way through our planned set-up work and
made some good progress."
Alex Wurz:
"Ever since I can remember, the Nürburgring has meant something special
to our family. My Grandfather used to take my father on trips there from
Austria to watch the races on the legendary Nordschleife, so there was
always lots of talk about this crazy racetrack in our family. During my
days in German F3, I lived just a few hundred metres away from the
circuit for two years. The new track layout requires a neutral set-up
and, as a driver, you need to find a good rhythm in order to get the
best lap time. It’s going to be a great race and I hope that in the
post-Schumacher era the German fans will still be as excited about
Formula One as they were before."
Sam Michael Technical Director:
"Nürburgring is a track at which we are looking forward to seeing the
performance of the FW29. It benefits from a good circuit layout, and
there are some great overtaking places. The last chicane always provides
opportunities on the entry, and exit, if someone gets it wrong!
With such sustained lateral loading on the car, the tyres always get a
hard time around this track. The Bridgestone Potenza tyres we will have
in Germany will be the medium and soft versions, two tyres that we have
plenty of experience with. Teams will either use a one or two stop
strategy in this race. The gap between everyone is now so close that
every half a tenth really counts, whether gained in qualifying or the
race."
Nürburgring, Germany:
A rhythmic, undulating track, each 5.148 kilometre lap of the 60 lap
European Grand Prix will see the drivers negotiate eight left and eight
right hand corners, a complete mix of slow, medium and high speed turns,
joined by several straights. A high downforce circuit, the Nürburgring
invariably provides the perfect backdrop for some great overtaking
manoeuvres, particularly in the stadium section and at the exit of the
final chicane upon entering the first corner. Unpredictable weather
conditions common to the mountainous Eifel region can also come into
play over the course of the weekend and often promote a lottery result
for the European Grand Prix.
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KEY RACE DATA: RACE DISTANCE / LAPS 5.148kms 60 laps = 308.863kms
RACE START TIME Local: 14.00, BST: 13.00
2006 FASTEST LAP M Schumacher, Ferrari: 1:32.099
2006 POLE SITTER F Alonso, Renault F1: 1:29.819
2006 RACE WINNER M Schumacher, Ferrari
PIT-STOP SCHEDULE
1 stop: Laps 33 - 38
2 stops: Laps 23 – 29, 46 - 50
3 stops: Laps 17 – 22, 32 – 38 47 - 53
WILLIAMS IN SILVERSTONE: Car Poles Fastest Wins 2005 2006 Starts Laps 36 3 3 2 MW Q3/DNF MW Q19/DNF
NH Q1/R2 NR Q22/R7
AT&T WILLIAMS DRIVER PERFORMANCE STATISTICS 2007
NICO ROSBERG ALEX WURZ
GP RESULT FASTEST LAP PTS RESULT FASTEST LAP PTS
AUS Q12/R7 1:26.721 2 Q15/DNF 1:28.303 0
MYS Q6/DNF 1.37.704 2 Q19/R9 1.37.864 0
BHR Q10/R10 1.35.556 2 Q11/R11 1.35.992 0
ESP Q11/R6 1.23.693 5 Q18/DNF - 0
MCO Q5/R12 1.16.991 5 Q11/R7 1.16.658 2
CAN Q7/R10 1.17.156 5 Q20/R3 1.17.947 8
USA Q14/DNF 1.14.066 5 Q17/R10 1.14.486 8
FRA Q9/R9 1.17.011 5 Q18/R14 1.17.240 8
GBR Q17/R12 1.22.896 5 Q13/R13 1.22.693 8
WILLIAMS PERFORMANCE STATISTICS 1978 TO 2007 GPs Wins Poles Fastest Podiums Laps Laps Points Entered Laps Raced Led
487 113 125 129 295 48,527 7,461 2,534.5 |