Formula 1 News

Williams: 2009 British Grand Prix preview 

Kazuki Nakajima: “Silverstone is one of the older tracks we race at and has kept much of its original layout which has made it one of the few remaining true driver’s tracks. As you’d expect, it’s therefore very demanding on the cars and the drivers, but mainly on the tyres. All the high speed corners put a lot of load onto the tyres so we have to be really careful with them. We also have to watch the weather. Everyone knows how unpredictable summer can be in the UK so anything can happen. Silverstone is also exposed to quite strong winds which can affect the car and which we have to take into consideration in the set-up process. I really enjoy going to Silverstone. As I’ve lived in Oxford for a few years now, the British Grand Prix is kind of a home race for me after Japan. The British fans seem to really love Formula One and make a big weekend of it, so it should be a bit more lively than Turkey! Williams has a lot of history at Silverstone, winning our first race there in 1979 and then our 100th as well, so it’s also a bit of a special weekend for the team.”

Nico Rosberg: “Silverstone is a great circuit, one of the few remaining tracks that really challenge a driver. It has quite a varied layout but really is dominated by the fast corners. Our car is much better suited to these types of circuits this year, so I’m going to Silverstone with more optimism than I did last! As well as taking into consideration the high speed corners for set-up, you have to consider the relatively slow sector three. We have to work quite hard to make sure we get the optimum balance on the car to hook up a competitive lap time because of those extremes. Overtaking isn’t easy at Silverstone, so qualifying is also really important here. Even though I’m German, it still feels special racing in front of the British fans when you drive for a British team. The atmosphere is amazing at Silverstone, and I know that lots of people come for the weekend who are based in the factory. As a reward for all their efforts this year, it would be amazing if we could deliver a really good result on Sunday.”

source: Williams