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Tough qualifying for Williams in Belgium

Nico Rosberg
By Andrew Hooper
September 6 2008
Qualifying for the 2008 Belgian GP would be a tough time for the AT&T Williams team. Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima would qualify in 15th and 19th grid positions. There was the prosepect of seeing Nico in the final period but this did not eventuate. Kazuki simply has struggled with a car that as he described goes from underster mid corner to oversteer on the exit. The race will be just as tough.
 
 Belgian GP Qualifying
 

With Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima finishing the final Belgian practice in eighth and sixteenth qualifying was going to be a difficult time for the AT&T Williams team. With clouds still over the circuit but with the track dry it looked like qualifying would not be affected by rain, as in the three practice sessions leading up to Saturday afternoon.

FW30The session would get underway with the twenty minute first period. Kazuki being one of the early drivers to come out. Piquet was first out and would start his flying lap. Massa was also out early but there was not a rush of drivers taking to the track. Nico was still in the pits with four minutes of the period run. Piquet would set a time of 1m:48.727, running on the harder tyre. Fisichella was second with a 1m:49.137. Sutil was now third. Kazuki was down in fifth, 1m:49.754, behind Barrichello. Button was sixth. Kazuki was on the harder tyre. Piquet would pit as Hamilton was out on the track but complaining about a small vibration.

Glock was now fastest with a 1m:48.496 but Massa and Coulthard would move ahead of him. Massa was fastest with a 1m:47.686. Nico was still in the pit lane. Hamilton was on a quick lap and he would finish fastest with a 1m:46.887. Kovalainen was now second with a 1m:47.613. Vettel was now fourth after having being in second prior to the McLaren's setting their times. Nico was now out on the track as Raikkonen moved into fourth with a 1m:47.740. Vettel was now fifth and Trulli sixth. Kazuki was down in sixteenth.

Massa would improve to take second with a 1m:47.449 but Raikkonen would move ahead of his team-mate with a 1m:47.390. Hamilton and Massa would pit. Kubica was now fifth, 1m:47.657, followed by Piquet and Heidfeld. Alonso was now eighth. Nico had yet to set a time. Kazuki was now in eighteenth. Nico's first lap would see him move up to eighth, 1m:47.752. Raikkonen would improve with a 1m:46.690. Kazuki was back out on the softer tyres. Six and a half minutes remaining and Raikkonen had pitted. Heidfeld was now in third, 1m:47.419.

NakajimaKazuki was been told that he was losing a second in sector two. Coulthard was now fifth, 1m:47.510. Kovalainen had dropped to sixth, 1m:47.574. Nico had pitted from ninth. Kovalainen would improve his time to see him fastest with a 1m:46.812. Kazuki had pitted been currently the slowest driver, 1m:49.041, while Nico was also in the pits. Kazuki would complain of understeer mid corner and oversteer on the exit of the corner. Everything you don't want as a driver. Massa was back out while the top four remained in the pits. Kazuki and Nico were also back out as Massa moved up to second, 1m:46.873. Coulthard was fastest in the second sector as Sutil move dup to fourteenth. Piquet was now fifth, 1m:47.052.

Coulthard was now sixth but Bourdais would push everyone down one place as he went fastest with a 1m:46.777. Nico was twelfth but would drop to fifteenth and Kazuki was nineteenth. So with the end of the period those not making the cut were Barrichello, Button, Sutil, Kazuki, and Fisichella.

At the front the order was Bourdais followed by Kovalainen, Massa, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Piquet, Kubica, Coulthard, Vettel, Alonso, Webber, Glock, Trulli, Heidfeld, and Nico. It would be very surprising to see Nico make it past the second period.

 

With Nico looking at the prospect of not making it past the second period this period would start with all fifteen drivers waiting in their pits. Raikkonen and Trulli would be first out with Kimi on the softer tyre. Now there was a rush of several other drivers including both Red Bulls, both McLaren's, and both Toyota's. Massa was also out as Raikkonen went fastest in sector one. Both BMW's remained in the pits.

Williams GarageKovalainen was now fastest in sector one while Kimi went fastest in sector two. Kimi would set a time of 1m:46.298 to go fastest with the best time of the weekend so far. But Kovalainen would move ahead of the Ferrari with a 1m:46.037. Hamilton was now second, 1m:46.088. Hamilton was on the harder tyre for his run. Alonso was fourth followed by Vettel, Piquet, Bourdais and Glock. Nico was out on the softer tyre Nico's first lap would see him thirteenth. Things were not looking good in the Williams garage on what was another tough weekend.

With six minutes remaining only the BMW's were running. Neither had set a time. Kubica was able to move up to sixth, 1m:46.839. Heidfeld was able to move up to fourth with a 1m:46.311 pushing his team-mated won to seventh. Nico was now in fifteenth and last. With the top six still in their pits the rest of the fifteen drivers were back out for their final run. Fourth and sixth placed Heidfeld and Alonso would also come out. Everyone was on the softer tyre.
The period would end but with a large number of drivers yet to finish their laps. Most drivers were looking to have improved their times. Bourdais was now eighth with a 1m:46.544 and Vettel in ninth. Those not making it through to the final period were Trulli, Piquet, Glock, Coulthard, and Nico. The top ten was Kovalainen from Hamilton, Raikkonen, Heidfeld, Massa, Alonso, Kubica, Bourdais, Vettel, and in tenth Webber.

 

With the Williams cars starting the Belgian Grand Prix from fifteenth and nineteenth grid positions it was yet to be decided who would start from pole. The final period would start with Massa out first on the softer tyre. He was quickly followed by the everyone except for Vettel. With the cars running their race fuel Massa was on his first flying lap. Massa's time was a 1m:48.666.

Sam Michael & Patrick HeadBourdais was second with a 1m:50.019. This would become third as Raikkonen went fastest with a 1m:48.513. But Hamilton moved ahead of the Ferrari with a 1m:47.973. Kovalainen was now second with a 1m:48.081. Heidfeld was in fourth ahead of Massa and Webber, Alonso, Kubica, and Bourdais. Several drivers would pit while Vettel came out for a single run. Everyone was out on the track for their final laps. Everyone was on the softer tyre as Massa went fastest in sector one only to be beaten by Hamilton. Massa was fastest in sector two.

The Ferrari driver would complete his lap setting a time of 1m:47.678 to go fastest but he was passed by Hamilton with a 1m:47.338. Raikkonen was now third with a 1m:47.992 but Kovalainen would move ahead with a 1m:47.815. The period would end with Hamilton fastest from Massa, Kovalainen, Raikkonen, Heidfeld, Alonso, Webber, Kubica, Bourdais and Vettel.

As for the Williams teams race prospects it was going to again be a difficult time for both Nico and Kazuki with the pair staring down the likelihood of having another race that would see them fight over a few points at best. Tough times for the Williams team!

 

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