Sam Michael On Malaysia F1 Practise Sessions

Sam Michael, Technical Director

We spent today’s practice sessions working on starts and evaluating a revised diffuser and front brake duct. The
tyres appear to be quite stable again, something we’ve come to expect from Bridgestone. Tonight we’ll be
focussing on extracting more speed out of the FW32 for qualifying. We had a mechanical problem on Nico’s car
in the afternoon session, but the mechanics were able to fix it quickly.

BMW Sauber Malaysia F1 Friday Practise

Press release Malaysian GP ? 1st/2nd Free Practice ? Friday, 02.04.2010 Weather: Sunny and dry, 27-32°C air, 30-50°C track It was a trouble free start to the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend for Kamui Kobayashi and Pedro de la Rosa. Besides the usual set-up work and race preparation, the team found time to test the new rear wing system again in both free practice sessions.

Kamui Kobayashi: C29.01 / Ferrari 056 1st Practice: 12th / 1:36.503 min (28 laps) / 2nd Practice: 11th / 1:36.018 min (38 laps) ?The car seems to be better than last week in Melbourne, but obviously we need to keep working hard to find a better pace. For me it is good that I know the track here so well, that makes it easy. While driving the heat isn?t an issue, but if you sit in the car in the garage waiting for the next outing you almost get grilled. In the afternoon session the asphalt was really, really hot when it reached 50 degrees, and this certainly is hard on the tyres. But perhaps it is a useful experience as the qualifying and the race are also in the afternoon.?

Pedro de la Rosa: C29.03 / Ferrari 056 1st Practice: 16th / 1:36.899 min (24 laps) / 2nd Practice: 13th / 1:36.325 min (33 laps) ?It was a really positive Friday as we were able to do a lot of testing and tried different things including our new rear wing system. Balance wise, I am happier with the car now than I was in Australia and I enjoy the high speed corners of the Sepang circuit quite a lot. However, we need to find some more pace.?

Willy Rampf, Technical Director: ?We used both sessions to test different configurations of our new rear wing. We will analyse the data here at the track and in the factory in Hinwil to decide on the next steps. In preparation for the race we did long runs with the option tyres to get an understanding of their behaviour when we have a heavy car and a very high track temperature. Overall it was a productive day without any technical problems. We were able to complete our planned programme

Force India Post Practise Sepang Malasia Grand Prix

Hot and humid Sepang was the venue for the opening day of practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend. Teams and drivers sizzled in the searing heat during the two 90 minute sessions, the curtain raiser to the third event of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship. Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta were back in action for Force India in FP1, with regular race driver Tonio Liuzzi returning for FP2 as test and reserve driver Paul got more time in the VJM03 as part of his scheduled programme.
The trio ploughed through the standard Friday workload of tyre and set-up evaluation and - in Paul’s case - circuit familiarisation. Adrian was a promising seventh quickest while Paul was 15th in FP1. Tonio returned for the second session, setting the 12th quickest time while Adrian posted the 10th best lap.
Adrian Sutil (car 14)
Today was very much following our normal Friday programme. I had to be a little bit patient as the track was dusty at the beginning of the morning so it was just driving and learning the circuit again. In the afternoon we then went to do a little set-up work. It was difficult with the hot track temperatures we experience here as the tyres overheated very quickly and it was challenging to get it under control. We have a few things to look at set-up wise but we should be fine for tomorrow. We are in the top 10 still, just behind the top four teams. I think it will be an interesting day, probably with some rain thrown in as well!
Tonio Liuzzi (car 15)
Today was a good opening day of practice for the team. I missed the morning session but we did the most important job of understanding the tyres and following our programme targets. We are quite happy, and although the car suffered a little understeer in the high speed corners, it is responding well and we understand the behaviour of the tyres over the longer runs. It looks like qualifying here will be interesting as the rain started at 4pm but we can deal with the conditions I am sure.
Paul di Resta
I’m feeling a lot more comfortable and I think that was why I was able to get up to speed relatively quickly. It ran more smoothly today and even though I didn’t have any prior experience of the circuit I got into a relatively comfortable zone quite soon. The programme was exactly the same as if Tonio had been in the car, running through baselines and then understanding the tyres. Here the tyres don’t last very long with the heat and we missed the peak with them and didn’t quite set the optimum time, but I think ultimately you can’t pay too much attention to that as it’s not always going to be relative to what we are doing and where we are. It’s just getting myself in the environment, getting the track time and learning the circuits.
Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer
We didn’t encounter any major problems today as we established the relative performance and degradation characteristics of the two tyres available for this race. The high track and air temperatures are, as usual here, dominating the behaviour of the car. Today’s sessions have been at the normal times of day, but as we head into the weekend they become later again, and that will be a factor in the decisions we make overnight. We’ve more work to do, but are looking forward to the challenges of the weekend ahead.

BMW Sauber Post Race From Australia Melbourne Grand Prix

Following Kamui Kobayashi’s retirement after a crash on lap one, it looked good for Pedro de la Rosa to score the team’s first points. But in the end his tyres degraded too much and he had nothing left for defending.

Pedro de la Rosa: 12th place
C29.03 / Ferrari 056
“For a while the race went okay, I managed to stay out of trouble and there was a good chance to get our first points. But, I’m afraid, we underestimated the tyre degradation. In the end I really had no rear tyres left. For the last 15 laps it was just a question of how to keep the car on the track. I was absolutely helpless when Michael and Jaime came in the end to overtake me“

Kamui Kobayashi: accident on lap 1
C29.02 / Ferrari 056
“It looks as if I touched a kerb or another car in turn three. Everything was very close and I don’t really remember anything major, but on the data it looks like there was something. I had no worries about the front wing, but a few corners later it went off and got stuck under the car. At first I had no idea what had happened. I had no control anymore.”

Peter Sauber, Team Principal:
“Looking at how the race evolved, it’s a disappointing result. For a third of the race Pedro was able to defend ninth against Rubens Barrichello, but then he lost out, and in the penultimate lap he was also passed by Michael Schumacher and Jaime Alguersuari. Kamui’s race didn’t even last one lap. Following contact with another car his front wing broke, and he went off, unfortunately hitting other competitors.”

Willy Rampf, Technical Director:
“It was a race start under difficult conditions. Kamui most probably had contact with another car and damaged his front wing. As a result the front wing broke in the braking zone of corner 6, and Kamui went off. Pedro won positions after the start, and we made the change from intermediates to slicks at the right moment. Our strategy was to finish the race with this set of tyres, which - looking at the overall result - was the right decision. However, the tyres degraded too much, and the lap times were not consistent enough, therefore we lost our chance to finish the race in ninth.”

AT&T Australia Post Race Press Release

Aided by the forecasted rain, Melbourne’s Albert Park delivered a thrilling afternoon of racing today.
Starting on the fourth row of the grid, Rubens Barrichello again scored points for the team in his second
race for AT&T Williams, finishing in eighth place. Nico Hulkenberg’s debut Australian Grand Prix ended
before it began as he fell victim to Kobayashi’s turn six incident on the first lap. The team now pack up and
travel straight to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysian Grand Prix next Sunday.

Rubens Barrichello:
It was a good race, but we should have finished in seventh really. We took the chance to change tyres
when we did and go for it. I thought everyone else would also come in, which is why I went for that route.
More points for the team today is positive though. The car is good enough; we will just be picking up more
points before we get podiums.

Nico Hulkenberg:
Today was obviously pretty disappointing. I was already in the corner when I was suddenly hit from behind by
Kamui Kobayashi. It was quite a big impact. I’m not sure what caused it, but it’s frustrating because I was looking
forward to my first race here.

Sam Michael, Technical Director:
It was good to get some more points, but we need to bring more performance to the car and to the
engine. Doing both is the major part of our development programme over the next few races. Rubens
drove well through all the conditions he faced today. Unfortunately, Nico was knocked out of the race
by another car.

Force India Comment Pre Malaysia Grand Prix

After a spectacular race in Australia the third round of the FIA Formula One World Championship is just a few days away. The teams continue their journey to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysian Grand Prix on April 4.

Pedro de la Rosa: ?The Sepang circuit is one of my favourite tracks. It has a lot of rhythm with many flowing corners which reminds me a little bit of the Circuit de Catalunya. The track in Malaysia is physically extremely demanding, especially because of the humidity and the heat. I like driving there a lot! It is important to be fit for there. For a driver it is by far the toughest race on the championship calendar and it is also very demanding on the car. I think if you are quick there you are quick everywhere, and, as I said before, it is a bit like Barcelona and both are very representative of what we find at other circuits. This means it is a good test bench for the drivers and the cars.?

Kamui Kobayashi: ?I have good memories of Sepang as I won a GP2 Asia race there in 2008. It is a pretty nice track - I like it. The heat is tough, but that?s the same for everybody. I don?t mind the heat, but I hope we don?t get the same weather as during last year?s Grand Prix when the race had to be stopped because of the heavy rain. Malaysia is not too far from Japan and, hopefully, I will meet some Japanese fans there. The last corner before the main straight is my favourite. You have to brake very hard and get the corner right to accelerate down the straight. It has a lot of influence on the lap time, because if you don?t get this one right you really pay for it.?

Technical Director Willy Rampf: ?Sepang is a very demanding circuit which asks a lot from the chassis and the set-up. It has corners with very quick changes of direction in which stability is crucial. At the same time you need good traction to accelerate out of the slow corners, which in some cases lead uphill. The right hander before the back straight is especially tricky with its tightening radius. ?We expect ambient temperatures of around 35 degrees Celsius and accordingly track temperatures over 40 degrees. Therefore you have to take care of the cooling, and this is something you also have to take into account for the set-up to avoid excessive tyre wear. The weather is rather unpredictable with the chance of rain in the late afternoon high, which certainly would make for an exciting race.?

Pedro de la Rosa to race for BMW Sauber F1 Team

Pedro de la Rosa is the BMW Sauber F1 Team?s second driver for the 2010 season. The 38-year-old Spaniard has 71 Grands Prix under his belt and worked with McLaren as a test and reserve driver for seven years. In December the Swiss team had already announced it had signed on Kamui Kobayashi (23, Japan). ?

Pedro has spent many years working for a top team at the highest technical level,? pointed out Team Principal Peter Sauber, adding: ?We as a team stand to gain from his experience, and the same goes for young Kamui. The combination of a seasoned racer and an up-and-coming young driver has repeatedly proved a very fruitful one. I don?t expect either of them to disappoint in 2010. Of course it is also crucial that we provide them with a decent car; I feel positive about our in-house progress on that front too. We were able to continue work on our 2010 car as scheduled throughout the recent period of uncertainty.?

Pedro de la Rosa: ?I always firmly believed I would be given another chance as a team driver. Since the number of test drives were radically reduced, this was what I was working towards. I?m really excited about the season with Peter Sauber?s team, which has been a solid fixture in Formula One ever since 1993.?

Pedro de la Rosa was born in Barcelona (ES) on 24th February 1971. He has lived in Zurich (CH) for several years with his wife Maria Reyes and daughters Georgina, Olivia and Luna. De la Rosa began karting at the relatively late age of 17, but was immediately discovered and sponsored by the Spanish Automobile Federation. A year later he had already progressed to a single-seater racing car and went on to win the Formula Fiat Uno. After successful stints in Formula Ford, Formula Renault and British Formula 3, 1997 saw him win the Japanese Formula 3000 and GT Championship. In 1998 he made his debut as a Formula One test driver for the Jordan Team. He contested his first Grand Prix in Australia in 1999 for Arrows, taking his inferior car straight into the points with a sixth-placed finish. He remained with Arrows in 1999 and 2000, moving to Jaguar for the 2001 and 2002 seasons. From 2003 through to 2009 he worked for McLaren-Mercedes as a reserve driver. Called upon to race for the team in nine Grands Prix, he capitalised on these opportunities. In 2005 he finished fifth in Bahrain and claimed the fastest race lap. 2006 saw him stepping into the breach again: in eight races he managed to pick up 19 World Championship points and took a podium place by finishing second in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.

HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO DRIVE AN AT&T WILLIAMS FORMULA ONE - win the chance

Philips Consumer Lifestyle, Official Partner of the AT&T Williams team, is again giving away the chance to drive a recent AT&T Williams Formula One car in 2009.
Through the online Philips Driving Academy, one lucky winner will get to drive a Williams FW29 for five laps on a Grand Prix circuit following intensive training from the AT&T Williams team.
Following on from the success of last year’s competition, Philips is committed to getting people closer to Formula One and putting them in the driving seat – literally in this case. Competition details are as follows:
1. Entry:
• Enter the Philips Driving Academy at www.philips.com/attwilliams
• Register your details and set your own ‘hotlap’ on the specifically designed Philips test
track
• The closing date for the competition is 20th September 2009
2. The prize:
• The ten fastest entrants globally will win an expenses paid trip to the UK to compete in
an assessment day
• The third placed finalist will get to drive a sports car around the circuit with instruction
from Kazuki Nakajima
• The second placed finalist will practice the track in a sports car (as above) and then get
to drive an F2 car for five laps of the circuit
• The overall winner will practice the circuit in both the sports car and F2 car, receive a
one-to-one briefing from Kazuki Nakajima and then drive a Williams FW29 for five laps
of the track Patrick Overwijk, F1 Sponsorship Manager, Philips Consumer Lifestyle, said: “Last season
we found fourteen very talented drivers who demonstrated a perfect combination of skill,
track awareness, consistency and a willingness to learn. In 2009, we’re hoping that the
Philips Driving Academy will unearth a number of men and women who also have what it
takes to drive the AT&T Williams car. Good luck!”

Force India Post Chinese Grand Prix Press Conference

Adrian Sutil Q&A: ‘We should all be very proud of this race’

Adrian Sutil put in another brilliant wet weather performance for Force India in China, running as high as sixth - ahead of Lewis Hamilton - before aquaplaning caught him out and pitched him into the tyre wall with less than six laps to go. Adrian had started with a light fuel load, but the team changed strategy in the early laps behind the safety car by bringing him in and giving him more fuel. Once the race finally got going he pitted again on lap 19 and filled up to run to the flag in what was in effect a one-stop strategy. Running a very heavy car and keeping his extreme wet tyres alive for such a long stint was a huge challenge. We asked him for his thoughts on the race.

Q: You had a fantastic race in the wet in Monaco last year, and another one here, but sadly both ended in retirement. What are your feelings about today?
‘Our performance was really very good and we should all be very proud of this race. It was a risk to go on one-stop, because I stopped very early. I was very light at the beginning and then under the safety car we went into the pits and just filled it up. We knew it would have been tight on the tyres, but the grip in the corners was enough to stay in a good position, but with the aquaplaning on the straights it was sometimes hard to keep it on the circuit. You never knew what was going to happen because the car went to the left or the right. With six laps to go I hit another patch of water and ended up in the wall. It was very disappointing.’

Q: That set of tyres had to do a lot of laps. How did they look when you stopped?
‘They were still OK, but the profile goes down and down. We’re talking about a few millimetres, but it is still enough to cause a lot of problems with the water. I got a lot of understeer, and the traction went down of course, but after 30 laps that’s how it is.’

Q: Was it fun taking on the McLarens in an equal fight?
‘Yes it was good! I made a good pass on Kovalainen when he went out of the pits, so I could take his position. Then I was behind Lewis, and in the end he was behind me. It was nice to just race the guys in the front there. We had really good pace, so that was promising.’

Q: In Monaco you had the reigning World Champion behind you when you retired, and you did this time as well!
‘That’s true. Maybe it’s a little bit of bad luck then! It’s just a little co-incidence, but it’s nice to race the World Champions of course, when we don’t have the fastest car in the field right now.’

Q: Since Monaco there have been several wet races and potential opportunities, but luck hasn’t been on your side. Was it good to finally have another chance to show what you can do?
‘This was very nice, I’m pleased that it happened like this. We could have done a safe run, changed tyres, and maybe we would have been in the back. But that’s not the way we want it to go, we had to take a risk because we know that we’re good in the wet. Of course we were unlucky and it wasn’t possible to bring it home, but sometimes it’s just bad luck if you hit a patch of water. We couldn’t do anything about it.’

Q: You filled up quite early. How close was it going to be on fuel?
‘We were on the limit, but it was definitely enough, we just checked it. I tried to save a lot of fuel during the race. I knew it was going to be a long way to the end. In the last 10 laps I was attacking again, because we didn’t need to save the fuel anymore.’

Q: We’re unlikely to have a wet race in Bahrain next week. Any thoughts on going there?
‘I think there we’ll have seriously dry conditions! We’ll get a few updates on the car which will help us get a better performance in qualifying. But again it’s going to be difficult. We’re at the back of the field right now, and we have to take our chances, like we did here, and try to move on. Development is going on, and we’re getting new upgrades for the next few races, hopefully it’s enough to progress.’

AT&T Williams Quotes and News After Chinese Qualifying

In another fiercely fought qualifying battle, AT&T Williams team drivers Nico Rosberg and Kazuki
Nakajima both eased into Q2, Nico entering in P5 and Kazuki in P15. Kazuki, however, was unable to
progress past Q2 and was left in P15 at the flag. Glock’s five place penalty promotes Kazuki to
fourteenth on the grid for tomorrow’s race. Nico fared somewhat better making it into the final round of
qualifying, therefore maintaining his unblemished record this season, and ended the deciding session
with the seventh fastest time of the day.

Nico Rosberg:
This is where we are at the moment. We are the fourth best team out there so seventh place is more
or less where we expected to be. We struggled slightly in warming up the tyres, but otherwise I am
quite pleased. Strategy-wise, we are looking good and I’m not worried about our race pace. If you
look at Malaysia we were pretty strong in the race even though the tyres are a challenge, both hard
and soft. We’ll have to see how everyone around us looks in terms of fuel. It would be good if, after
Australia and Malaysia, things would go a bit more our way tomorrow. I must say that, for me, today’s
surprise was Alonso.

Kazuki Nakajima:
The car is as competitive as it was in Malaysia and we’re still making progress, so this result is a
shame. I really hope I can do better in the race, but we first need to look at our data and see what was
going on with the car and try to resolve it. We’ll do our best to get a good strategy in place as you
never know what can happen in a Grand Prix.

Sam Michael, Technical Director:
It’s disappointing that Kazuki wasn’t higher today. With Nico, we could have done better in managing
his run in Q3, but it didn’t work out as planned today. We should have a more competitive race pace,
so we’re looking forward to a good performance tomorrow.

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