The 2006 United States Formula 1 Grand Prix

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Driver of the day

Michael Schumacher
5
33%
Felipe Massa
1
7%
Giancarlo Fisichella
1
7%
Jarno Trulli
7
47%
Fernando Alonso
0
No votes
Rubens Barrichello
0
No votes
David Coulthard
1
7%
Vitantonio Liuzzi
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 15

Ed
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The 2006 United States Formula 1 Grand Prix

Post by Ed » Fri Jun 30, 2006 5:37 pm

This is the place to discuss everything related to the tenth round of the 2006 season taking place at Indianapolis between the 30th of June and the 2nd of July.

The United States Grand Prix Preview is available here.
The United States Main Page is available here.

To submit your 8 'n' Pole Picks for the USA click here, to register in the competition click here
Last edited by Ed on Fri Jul 14, 2006 2:32 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Post by Ed » Fri Jun 30, 2006 5:38 pm

The event timetable for the United States Grand Prix.

Friday
1st Practice 11:00 local time - 15:00 GMT
2nd Practice 14:00 local time - 18:00 GMT

Saturday
Practice 10:00 local time - 14:00 GMT
Qualifying 13:00 local time - 17:00 GMT

Sunday
Race 13:00 local time - 17:00 GMT

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Post by Ed » Fri Jun 30, 2006 5:42 pm

The latest weather forecast for the United States Grand Prix (last updated 1 July)

Friday
1st Practice - 11:00 - 24 - Sunny
2nd Practice - 14:00 - 26 - Mostly Sunny

Saturday
Practice - 10:00 - 25 - Sunny
Qualifying - 13:00 - 29 - Sunny & Windy

Sunday
Race - 13:00 - 31 - Mostly Sunny
Last edited by Ed on Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Ed » Fri Jun 30, 2006 11:07 pm

Selected Team and Driver Race Preview Quotes

Renault

Fernando Alonso
Q: What will be your aims for the weekend?
I am expecting another really tough battle. It was very close during the race in Montreal between Renault and McLaren, and Kimi put a lot of pressure on me all the way through the first part of the race. I expect it will be similar again this weekend, because we will be running basically the same cars without any developments on them. Depending on the tyre situation, Ferrari will be very competitive too. I have never finished a race in Indy, so this is another place where I really want to get on the podium and add a trophy to my collection!
Giancarlo Fisichella
Q: How do you expect to perform after last weekend in Montreal?
Canada showed us that we have a very competitive package at these low downforce circuits. We had both cars on the front row in qualifying, and we were able to race at the front on Sunday. I didn't get the result that I wanted after making a mistake at the start of the race, but I am very confident that our car will be able to run at the front again this weekend in Indy. We need to wait and see how the tyre performance compares before we can predict any results. But we know that an aggressive approach is needed to carry on beating Ferrari ? and that is what we will have.
McLaren

Martin Whitmarsh
It was clear in Montreal that we are reducing the gap to the Renault as we continue to develop the pace of the MP4-21. We still have work to do, however we demonstrated we can challenge for victories and that is what we intend to do this weekend. Everyone at Team McLaren Mercedes is looking forward to returning to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week. It is a great track and vital for Formula 1 to race at, not only because we need tracks that create exciting racing, bit it also allows us to call the sport a true world championship. Formula 1 knows we have to put on a great race this weekend and Team McLaren Mercedes are looking to be a strong part of that.
Kimi Raikkonen
At Montreal, we were able to show the step forward we have made with the MP4-21 and hopefully this week in America we will be able to challenge for the top step of the podium. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a great venue, and it is one of those everyone wants to say they have won at. The fans are also great, they are real petrol heads and I hope we can put on a good race for them this year. The track is all about compromise and is tough on all elements of the car. It is another fast track, like the past two of Silverstone and Montreal. Set-up wise the United States Grand Prix is more similar to Montreal as you have the long straight and slow corners, but you do have to allow for the slower infield section also. You can really challenge for position here, for sure the best opportunity is slipstreaming along the straight section of the oval and pass under braking at the right hander that takes you back into the infield. It also helps that the track is so wide here.
Juan Pablo Montoya
After my race in Canada, I cannot wait to get straight back on track this weekend, as the car felt really quick. It is even better for me that we are at Indy this race and competing for the fans, who are amazing and I personally have awesome support from Colombia, so I am looking forward to getting out there and putting on a fantastic show for them. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has such great memories for me from my days in CART and of course winning the Indy 500 in 2000, it is such a special venue, full of history and legend. The nature of the track, with the immense straight along the oval and the tight infield sees us use a medium to low downforce configuration to allow for the contrast in track style. The 1.7km section of the banked oval we use is the longest stretch we have at full throttle all season, it is pretty good fun as by the time you get to the end of the straight you really feel like you are going super fast because of the length of time!
Honda

Gil de Ferran
Whilst we were obviously disappointed with our result in Canada, we have less than a week now to prepare and optimise our package for the United States Grand Prix this coming weekend. The Indianapolis Motor
Speedway is a very challenging circuit, where the tight infield sections
lead into the oval and one of the longest open-throttle sections of any
of the tracks on the F1 calendar, calling for a difficult compromise
between car set-up, aerodynamics and gearing. Besides my strong personal emotional connection with the place, we all enjoy the very special
atmosphere of Indianapolis and very much look forward to returning there
this year for what I'm sure will be a great race.
Jenson Button
It's always exciting to race at a venue which has such a strong history and Indianapolis always has a great atmosphere. The circuit itself is very slow with the tight in-field section. I generally prefer fast
flowing circuits but you can overtake around here which should make for
some exciting racing for the fans. We will be using different tyres at
Indy to those we used last weekend in Montreal so I am hoping that we
can have a better race there. I also hope that we can give the American
public a really good race this year.
Rubens Barrichello
I really enjoy racing in the United States and have a lot of friends
based there so I always look forward to this particular race. The track
itself is a lot of fun with some great overtaking places and it feels
good to drive through the first corner of the oval banking flat out,
although it is an easy corner for us in an F1 car. Indianapolis has such
a strong motor racing heritage and traditionally puts on a great show so
I hope that the race weekend goes really well this year for all the fans
who come to watch. I had a disappointing race in Montreal so we will be
hoping for better this weekend, but it will be tough for us until we
return to testing and work on improving the performance of the car.
BMW Sauber

Mario Theissen
The US GP is the start of the second half of the season and at the same time the second half of the overseas double header in North America. We really hope the American motorsport fans have overcome the disappointment of 2005. In 2006 we want to deliver a better event. For the BMW P86 engine Indianapolis means the highest demands. On the oval?s straight the drivers go full throttle for more than 20 seconds, with the most demanding part being the second half when at the end of the straight they are on full throttle in seventh gear for more than ten seconds. After our good performances in Silverstone and Montreal, we would like to continue this trend in Indianapolis. Our goal is again to get both cars into the third part of qualifying and to collect points in the race.
Nick Heidfeld
I am looking forward to the U.S. GP. Indianapolis is the mecca of American motorsport. For us F1 drivers it is something special to drive on the banking, although basically this is a simple task as you just go flat out. We only use a part of the oval, as especially for F1 an infield section with lots of corners was built for its debut year in 2000. In the first year we didn?t know whether it was better to drive with a lot of downforce in this part of the track, or if it was more important to be fast on the straight and have very little rear wing. In 2006 this question will be asked again, as we have changed from V10 to V8 engines and have approximately 200bhp less.
I have done well in Indianapolis. In 2001 I had one of my best races to date. Although I lost first, second and seventh gears, I finished sixth and scored a point.
Jacques Villeneuve
The F1 circuit in Indianapolis isn?t a bad track, although I feel it?s not as good as it could be. If I had designed it I would have used both straights on the oval, not just the one which is at the start of the lap. It is very long and we get up to speeds of well over 300kph. Here you are driving next to a wall and at the end you have to brake heavily, so that makes if different to other tracks. When you get near the end of the lap there is a kink where you rejoin the main oval and go into the final corner, which is banked. In this corner we reach speeds of 280kph and it doesn?t really feel like a corner. It is a difficult track to drive and the fact it is bumpy doesn?t help.
It?s always nice to go to Indy after a spell in Europe and the atmosphere outside the paddock is always great. It feels a bit like a home Grand Prix because of the number of Canadian fans that are there, and the US fans also know me quite well.
Toyota

Pascal Vasselon
The incredible story of last year's US Grand Prix shows just what a unique track Indianapolis is. The circuit has conflicting demands that lead to impossible compromises for both aerodynamics and tyres. You would like to run a Monza low downforce configuration for the banking, which features well over 20 seconds of full throttle. Then as soon as you enter the infield you would like to be in Monaco high downforce configuration. As for tyres, you need grip on the slow infield section but you cannot go too soft because there is a very high wear rate at the rear due to the rough asphalt on the banking. Last year's situation occurred because of Indy-specific tyre loading and track conditions which were difficult to simulate on a test rig. Both tyre companies will have learned lessons for 2006 and we hope for a much happier event this time. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a purpose-built venue the likes of which we don't have in Europe and a wonderful venue for watching racing.
Ralf Schumacher
Of course I have mixed memories of Indianapolis, not least from last year. It was a tough decision for the teams not to race and it was particularly hard on the fans who had travelled to see the event. But it was the right decision because it was clearly unsafe to race and the safety of the drivers has to come first. It's in the nature of a racing driver to want to race but I hope the fans will understand that it was just impossible last year. Now we just have to hope that we have a trouble-free race this time so that the American public can look forward to seeing Formula 1 as it really is. The organisers have done a good job with the circuit at the Speedway and the challenge is to set up the car for good speed along the oval section while retaining stability through the twisty infield. The atmosphere is usually great at Indianapolis and I hope it will be similar again this year.
Jarno Trulli
Last year's US Grand Prix was an unfortunate weekend, and I was most sorry for the spectators who had come to the event. But we had no choice on race day because the risk to the drivers was too big. Of course it was hard to step out of the car but even though I was on pole, I would not have wanted to race under those conditions. Now we will just hope for a better weekend for everyone concerned this time. Indianapolis is a special venue and I enjoy the atmosphere both at the circuit and in the town because the people are so friendly. It has not been a very lucky season so far for me but we have definitely improved our performance as the season has gone on and the points in Canada were very welcome. I'm really looking forward to finishing the year well and I think I've earned the right to a change of fortune. But most of all, I just hope we can put on a good show in Indianapolis for the fans and try to erase the memories of last year.
Williams

Sam Michael
Indianapolis is a unique circuit, one which has a slow speed infield section followed by a long straight that goes through the oval, with around 23 seconds of full throttle time. It is an interesting proposition for the drivers and the engineers because most of the lap requires maximum downforce while, for the straight, you want to run as little wing as possible. Minimising drag on this section will be important. We have analysed all the data from the last Grand Prix to ensure that we have a strong tyre choice with Bridgestone and we will take well tested and proven constructions to cope with the aggressive surface on the banking.
Car specification for Indy will remain similar to that which we ran in Montr?al as the downforce levels at both circuits are fairly similar to each other. Set-up will also be similar as both tracks are dominated by slow speed corners and fast straights.
Mark Webber
It will be good to be back in America this week and I hope that we can put on a good show for the fans, they deserve it and Formula One needs it. As a team, we also need to do a lot better than we did in Canada, primarily by benefiting from a better tyre choice. I think we can be quite strong in Indianapolis, providing we make the right decisions in our preparations. I like racing in the US, even if the Speedway was not designed for Formula One cars, and I respect the history of the track. It?s important that we come home with some points from these two flyaways.
Nico Rosberg
Again, Indy is a track I haven?t yet raced at but one which I?ve learnt on the simulator. It seems to be quite different from the other circuits due to the very long straight and the banking. It will be interesting to see what Michelin and Bridgestone will come up with after what happened last year. I really hope that the fans will come back this year because I have watched several Indy 500 races on the TV and the atmosphere is just great with all those huge grandstands packed with people! For a driver, the bigger the crowd, the better it is!

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Post by Ed » Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:02 am

1st Friday Practice session underway!

Air temperature is 27 degrees while track temperature is 39 degrees.

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Post by Ed » Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:07 am

Davidson has set the fastest time with a 1:13.837. Wurz is second with a 1:15.294.

A bad start for Scott Speed at his home race as he stops on his out lap!

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Post by Ed » Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:10 am

Kubica takes second with a 1:14.239

Ralf Schumacher is watching the Germany vs Argentina football match!

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Post by Ed » Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:12 am

Kubica improves but still in second with a 1:13.925

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Post by Ed » Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:15 am

Kubica goes fastest with a 1:13.721

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Post by Ed » Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:20 am

20 minutes into the session - Top 8: Kubica, Davidson, Jani, Wurz, Doornbos, Mondini, Montagny and Yamamoto

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Post by <T-K> » Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:21 am

What lap will Ralph bin it? 8)

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Post by Ed » Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:24 am

Davidson improves his time in 2nd with a 1:13.837

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Post by Ed » Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:25 am

Now Davidson goes fastest with a 1:13.154

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Post by Ed » Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:26 am

<T-K> wrote:What lap will Ralph bin it? 8)
He is busy watching the football.

Wait a minute, Ralf is on Bridgestone's this year :wink:

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Post by Ed » Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:28 am

A bit from Sato's Super Aguri is lying on the main straight!

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