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Team
and Driver race preview (selected
team quotes, for a full team and driver preview click on the team name) Renault (
Fernando Alonso, Giancarlo Fisichella ) Fernando Alonso
There is always a fantastic atmosphere, it is one of the
most famous venues in motorsports, and everybody knows about Indianapolis. Without a doubt, it would be one of the best possible
races to win a Grand Prix. In terms of the circuit itself, it is a bit complex and there are some very contrasting sections: very
high speed straights, and very, very slow corners. You have to be really careful when you are selecting the set-up with the
engineers to make sure you do not cost yourself a lot of time. Full
Team and Driver Preview Back to Top McLaren (
Kimi Raikkonen, Juan Pablo Montoya ) MARTIN WHITMARSH, CEO FORMULA ONE, TEAM McLAREN MERCEDES
"Kimi's victory at Montreal sees us arrive
in Indianapolis with an exciting battle forming at the top of the Championship and hopefully the American fans, who are genuine
racing enthusiasts, will get to watch another entertaining race. It was of course a bittersweet event for the team, however Juan
Pablo demonstrated his very competitive pace with MP4-20 and we are looking forward to getting him back on track at a circuit that
he particularly enjoys. There was an issue with the steering column in Kimi's car at Canada, but it was relatively minor and it has
been resolved." Full
Team and Driver Preview Back to Top Williams
BMW ( Mark Webber, Nick Heidfeld ) Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1):
"We are now going to Indy,
the second of the North American races, and a circuit similar to Montreal in that it is a low drag level track. The circuit demands
one of the longest times on full throttle, at just over 20 seconds from the last corner all the way through the banking and down to
Turn 1. The rest of the circuit is dominated by slow speed corners, which means that traction control is crucial. It is also
important to have a tyre that can cope with the high loads of the banking while giving good grip in slow speed. The tyres were
selected two weeks ago for this Grand Prix, having worked on them with Michelin during our test programme in Europe. In terms of
race strategy, Indy is normally a two-stop race, but we'll wait and see what the situation is on tyre degradation and fuel effect
after practice." Full
Team and Driver Preview Back to Top Toyota (
Jarno Trulli, Ralf Schumacher ) Luca Marmorini - Technical Director Engine:
"The
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of the toughest circuits on the calendar for the engine department. Over the entire lap, the
percentage of full throttle is not as high as Spa or Monza, but the 1km banked straight which links the final corner of the
preceding lap and the first corner of the next means that we are running the engine at max power for almost 24 seconds without a
break. This naturally places a unique stress on the engine, so we have worked a lot on the test bench in Cologne to simulate this.
Top speed along the start-finish straight requires us to run with lower downforce settings which should aid overtaking possibilities
down to the first corner. But this will have some knock-on effects in the slower, tighter section where grip is important. We have
seen in previous years that we can be quite competitive at the US grand prix. I do not think that a podium is out of the question
this year, even if many other team! s have made performance gains in recent races." Full
Team and Driver Preview Back to Top Ferrari (
Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello ) Not yet available Full Team and Driver Preview Back
to Top Red Bull (
David Coulthard, Christian Klein ) CHRISTIAN HORNER, Sporting Director:
“Indianapolis is a circuit steeped in tradition, which usually provides exciting racing, mainly as a result of the overtaking
opportunities provided by a fast right hander onto the straight and the tight Turn 1 which is a classic passing point. While the
circuit might not be that interesting for the drivers, with an infield that’s a bit like a go-kart track, it produces good races.
F1 seems to be gaining US fans all the time and it’s good for the sport to have up and coming American driver, Scott Speed,
representing us in Friday’s Free Practice session.” Full
Team and Driver Preview Back to Top Sauber ( Jacques Villeneuve, Felipe Massa ) Willy Rampf (Technical
Director): "Indianapolis is a very special track. The banking is unique in F1, and the main straight is very long. Running from
the infield to the end of that straight, via the banking, provides the longest full throttle section in F1. That, and the frequently
high ambient temperature, makes it hard on engines. The good thing there is that the track is wide, so there are several possible
lines into Turn 1 which create overtaking possibilities.
"The surface is quite abrasive, especially where they have cut
drainage grooves in the oval section, and that can affect tyre wear. The infield is very tight - the drivers get into first gear
there three times a lap.
"Ideally you need a configuration that will give you good brake stability and good traction for the
slower part of the track, but high top speed and low drag for the straight. It's a real compromise. The best baseline is to run even
lower downforce than in Canada, because the straight line speeds are higher." Full Team
and Driver Preview Back to Top Jordan ( Tiago Monteiro, Narain Karthikeyan ) Paul Monaghan, Chief Race Engineer
"Indianapolis will be a challenge for our three drivers, as they
have never driven there. Therefore they will have to spend extra time learning the layout. There is an interesting combination of
long straights and slower corners. After the good Bridgestone results in Canada, we are hoping to maintain the improvement, which
will bring us, closer to our nearest competitors. We will be trying to have another trouble-free race.” Full
Team and Driver Preview Back to Top BAR Honda ( Jenson Button, Takuma Sato ) GIL DE FERRAN, SPORTING DIRECTOR
"Personally there is a special feeling returning to
Indy for a race. Although I return in a very different capacity, Indy is a place where one of my greatest triumphs took place as
driver and I have some fantastic memories. Hopefully I will be able to add to those memories with a good showing from B·A·R Honda.
Despite the disappointment in Canada, we feel very good going into the US Grand Prix. We were quite competitive throughout the last
weekend and we are hoping to find ourselves in a similar position at Indianapolis." Full
Team and Driver Preview Back to Top Minardi
( Christijan Albers, Patrick Freisacher ) Not yet available Back to Top Bridgestone Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of
Motorsport: “Ferrari’s podium finishes
in Canada have been a big motivator for the Bridgestone Motorsport team, both the staff on the road and in the UK and Japan.
Historically Bridgestone runners have performed well at the Indianapolis circuit and we are hoping that using our detailed knowledge
of the track, we can build on last weekend’s results to give our teams a mid-season boost. We are looking forward to another
thrilling race and hope to give all those loyal Bridgestone/Firestone fans something to cheer about.” Full Bridgestone Preview
Back to Top Michelin Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin
motorsport director
“Indianapolis represents a real challenge because tyres have to cope with sustained heat build-up for more
than 20 seconds as cars negotiate the season’s longest flat-out section, which incorporates the banking and the pit straight. In
addition, they also need to generate sufficient grip to maximise traction on the tight infield.
“These two contrasting
characteristics oblige teams and suppliers to make compromises in terms of aerodynamic set-up and tyre compounds. The banking
imposes a significant strain on the left-hand side of a chassis because it partly compensates for centrifugal forces by increasing
vertical loads, which are then transmitted to the tyres.
In fact, the banking limits the extent of what we can do when it comes
to finalising our tyre compounds. We have to base our selections on this, the most demanding part of the track. Softer compounds
wouldn’t survive the banking but tyres that are too hard would struggle on the infield and would soon be chewed up through sliding
around excessively. The surface of the banking is very abrasive – and that adds another contrasting factor to our preparations,
because the infield is quite the opposite.” Full Michelin Preview
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