* The BMW WilliamsF1 Team has not successfully completed the race in the last two years. Last year Ralf Schumacher spun off the track halfway through the race, and Juan Pablo Montoya retired while leading the race due to problems with the car's hydraulic system. The pair had qualified third and fourth on the grid.

* The first US Grand Prix took place in 1959 at Sebring and was won by Bruce McLaren driving a Cooper Climax. In 1960, the US GP was held at Riverside, California, before going to Watkins Glen, NY. From 1976 until 1983 there were eight races called the Grand Prix USA-West held in Long Beach. The Eighties also saw two races held at Las Vegas, another in Dallas and seven in Detroit. From 1989 until 1991, Phoenix was the home of three US GPs. In total 45, Formula One Grand Prix races been hosted in the USA.

* WilliamsF1 has five wins in the US to its credit: 1980 Alan Jones, Watkins Glen; 1981 Alan Jones, Las Vegas and Long Beach; 1984 Keke Rosberg, Dallas; 1985 Keke Rosberg, Detroit. In 1984 Nelson Piquet won the USA Detroit Grand Prix in his BMW powered Brabham.

* As a driver, Juan Pablo Montoya has fond memories of the circuit. In 2000, the Colombian wrote motor racing history by winning the legendary Indy 500 as a rookie. Nobody since 1966 (Graham Hill) had won this classic race at the first attempt.

* Juan Pablo Montoya has the chance to become the first driver to win both the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the F1 Grand Prix at Indianapolis. Only four drivers - Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti - have won the Indy 500 and an US GP to date, but on different circuits.

* The current circuit which incorporates part of the oval, is 2.605 miles (4.192 km) long and the race will be a total of 73 laps covering a race distance of 190.190 miles (306.016 km) long. One big difference between the oval and the road course is they go in opposite directions - Formula One races clockwise.

* The circuit includes parts of the famous oval - for 1822 metres (1.132 miles) or approximately 23 seconds where the cars run full throttle. After this section the cars dive into the infield, a winding section containing 13 corners. This unique circuit lay out obviously requires a difficult compromise between low and high downforce set-up.

* Turn 13 of the road course, which is Turn 1 of the 2.5-mile oval, a new safety feature has been introduced for Formula One. It is termed SAFER (Steel And Foam Energy Reduction) Barrier and is an energy-absorbing system which was installed into all four turns of the oval in May.

* Tyre degradation is expected to be low in Indianapolis, with one pit stop between laps 36 and 52 likely.

* The lap record was established last year by Montoya in his BMW WilliamsF1 FW23 with a time of 1m14.448s (202.707km/h). Last year's pole time was set by Michael Schumacher in 1m11.708s (210.453 km/h).

* The race will start at 13.00 local time (18.00 GMT) on Sunday, 29th September.

* The city of Indianapolis, the capital of the State of Indiana, has approx 800,000 citizens. 1,600,000 people live in the surrounding Marion County. Indianapolis was founded in 1821. The city was planned and mapped with several ring roads around the centre which explains its nickname "circle city". It is the 12th biggest city in the US and has two universities and - due to many immigrants from Germany around 1840 - the oldest male-voice choir of the United States. The German twin town of Indianapolis is Cologne.