After the frustrations of a strong if somewhat disappointing showing in the European GP the Williams F1 team moves to the Silverstone circuit for the 2012 British GP, the teams home event.
Mark Gillan, Chief
Operations Engineer:
Following our strong showing in Valencia, which unfortunately ultimately
ended in disappointment, we head to our home Grand Prix at Silverstone
with high hopes. Silverstone is a great circuit, with the highest
average corner speed of any circuit in the championship and is a good
challenge for both the driver and car. Pirelli bring their hard (prime)
and soft (option) tyres to this race, which is the same pairing that we
used successfully in Barcelona. We will also bring an updated
aerodynamic package to the event which is imperative given the
importance of aerodynamic efficiency around this track and how tight the
grid is at present. The long range forecast doesn’t look particularly
promising, predicting a reasonable chance of rain and strong winds
throughout the weekend, which could lead to an eventful qualifying and
race.
Bruno Senna:
Silverstone is one of my favourite tracks because it’s high speed and
flows really well. Our car has good pace at the high down force tracks
and is good on high speed corners as well so it should suit Silverstone.
Whilst we didn’t get the result we were hoping for in Valencia we showed
that our car be very competitive and with more updates planned for this
race I’m optimistic about what we can achieve.
Pastor Maldonado:
The British Grand Prix is always very special for the whole team and the
support we get here is amazing with some of the most knowledgeable fans
in the world. I think the track will suit our car because it’s similar
to Barcelona and it’s also very fun to drive with sections like Maggots
and Becketts which really test you as a driver. The pace of the car in
Valencia was very promising and we have a number of updates expected for
this race as well so hopefully we can give the home fans a good result.
Rémi Taffin, Head of
Renault Sport F1 Track Operations:
Silverstone is a fantastic track that still tests the upper limits of
the engine, even with the addition of the new slow loop. It counts as
one of the power tracks of the season, with 66% of the lap spent at full
throttle in qualifying and 61% in the race, plus an average speed of
well over 200kph. We therefore work towards delivering correct gear
ratios at the higher revs to get powerful acceleration and outright
power on the long straights. However we still need to maintain
driveability on the slower turns, notably through the new complex.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli
Motorsport Director:
Silverstone is an extremely demanding circuit for the tyres due to its
variation of very high-speed corners with some slower and more technical
sections, particularly since the modifications made to the track layout
two years ago. The surface is also quite abrasive, which increases the
wear rate. We’re bringing the P Zero Silver hard tyres and the P Zero
Yellow soft tyres to Silverstone – with a full step between the two
compounds once more – in order to offer the drivers both performance and
durability, as well as giving teams the chance to come up with an ample
variety of strategies. Rain is always a possibility in England at this
time of year and last time we saw extensive use of the intermediate tyre
in the early stages of the race. There is also a very wide window of
possible ambient temperatures, from 15 to 30 degrees centigrade.
Race Data Friday:
Practice 1: 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2: 14:00 - 15:30 Saturday:
Practice 3: 10:00 - 11:00
Qualifying: 13:00 – 14:00 Sunday: Race: 13:00
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