Spanish Grand Prix, 7th - 9th May 2004 - PREVIEW

The BMW WilliamsF1 Team will travel to Barcelona next week, home of the
Spanish Grand Prix, and the fifth round of the 2004 FIA Formula One
World Championship. Despite being one of the primary testing venues for
the teams, the 4.6 metre circuit provides the backdrop for one of the
more challenging races on the calendar. The fickle climate often
demands continual set-up changes while the prevailing wind conditions
can compromise aerodynamic efficiency. Having spent the week testing
new developments at Silverstone this week, the team are looking forward
to the 14th Spanish Grand Prix and re-claiming ground lost in the first
four races. Historically, WilliamsF1 have enjoyed good fortune at the
Spanish track, having won five out of the thirteen Grands Prix hosted
by Catalunya since 1991. Following the formation of the Anglo-German
alliance in 2000, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team have enjoyed moderate success
in Spain, with Montoya's 2nd places in 2001 and 2002, and are now
looking to improve on that success and close the gap to their
competitors. Juan Pablo Montoya: Most of the teams spend a lot of time
testing at the Barcelona track so the drivers know the circuit like the
back of their hand. We are certainly one of those teams, having
completed thirteen test days already there this year and covered a
total of 10,363 kilometres. Although we regularly run at Barcelona, I
wouldn't consider it one of my favourite circuits as it doesn't really
suit my driving style. However, I seem to have scored consistently at
the Spanish Grand Prix having achieved two second places and one fourth
place in the past three years with the team. I also secured an F3000
victory there in 1998, but that was quite a long time ago now! After
a fairly disappointing San Marino Grand Prix, I have been trying to
relax in order to regain my focus. I've been doing some training but
have combined this with golf. The Spanish Grand Prix weekend will start
slightly earlier than usual for me, and for some of the other drivers,
as we will be playing in a charity tennis match near Barcelona on
Thursday morning. I'm hoping this will give me a further boost in
preparation for my on-track duties. Ralf Schumacher: Even though we
couldn't complete the whole of the scheduled test programme due to the
bad weather at Silverstone this week, every single member of the team
certainly has the enthusiasm and motivation to improve upon our
performance. We tested in Barcelona quite a lot over the winter period
so we should be well prepared for the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. I
don't think miracles should be expected, but it's clear we are able to
fight for podium positions, like we did in Imola, and collecting as
many points as possible is the most important thing. Sam Michael
(Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1): The team has spent this week
testing at Silverstone and has made good progress on set-ups and tyre
development under both wet and dry conditions. Barcelona is a
challenging circuit for the drivers and engineers to find a well
balanced set-up. We obviously spend a lot of time here during winter
testing but the changeable conditions mean that you are still
experimenting with the set-up during the actual race weekend. With four
high speed corners, the tyres need to be harder than usual to cope with
the high levels of degradation. A large emphasis is therefore placed on
aerodynamic efficiency. We have made further improvements to the cars
since the last Grand Prix, both mechanical and aerodynamic, while
Michelin have two good tyre compounds that we have been testing.
Combined, these steps should help us in our efforts to return to the
front of the field where we obviously want to be competing. With the
new rules introduced this year, qualifying and strategy go hand in
hand. As overtaking is so difficult in Barcelona, it's even more
important to hook up a good qualifying lap, find the perfect strategy
and get the race start right. Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport
Director): The BMW P84 engine successfully passed another endurance test
over the San Marino Grand Prix weekend, most notably in the final laps
of the race when Juan Pablo achieved rpm levels on a par with those
achieved during qualifying, which enabled him to defend himself against
Fernando Alonso's attack. This achievement has underlined the value of
the work we've carried out over the last few weeks. Our on-going
development effort in Munich is focused on achieving maximum revs and
output in the second half of the engine's 800-kilometre lifespan, i.e.
during the race. We're working on achieving this even whilst in seventh
gear, which on some circuits is engaged for more than five seconds at
maximum revs. In the past, it was customary to make the top gear
longer, by 500 to 1,000 rpm, in order to reduce this continuous load.
Our recent development strategy is primarily directed at those
components which have to sustain high thermal and mechanical loads. We
have subsequently developed significant expertise in both design, aided
by computer simulation, and in high-precision manufacturing, an advance
which stands us in good stead for the single engine rule. For BMW, the
Formula One project has once again proved to be an effective foundation
as these insights are now filtering into the development of production
engines. Demand on the engine at Barcelona is average, with a moderate
proportion of the lap taken at full throttle. With an 880 metre
start/finish straight though, every extra bit of horsepower pays
dividends. The BMW WilliamsF1 Team clearly has a significant gap to
close to the competition but we will leave no stone unturned in our
efforts to achieve this. Stats and facts: - The city of Barcelona,
situated in the northeast of Spain, has a population of approximately
1.8 million. It is the economic and cultural centre of Catalunya,
boasting several universities and institutes of higher education, as
well as numerous museums and cultural monuments. One of the city's most
famous sons is the architect Antoni Gaudí who bequeathed to his
city, among other works, the incomplete Sagrada Familia Cathedral. - A
total of 33 Grands Prix have been held in Spain since the Championship's
inception in 1951. The first two Spanish Grands Prix were staged in
Pedralbes. Subsequent venues include Jarama (9), Montjuich (4) and
Jerez (5). Since 1991, Formula One has been staged on the Circuit de
Catalunya, which lies to the north of Barcelona. 2004 will mark the
city's 14th Spanish Grand Prix. - Nigel Mansell (GBR), driving a
Williams Renault, won the first race held at the Circuit de Catalunya,
on 29th September 1991. - In total, WilliamsF1 has won six Spanish
Grands Prix. Mansell secured the team's first victory on Spanish soil
at Jerez in 1987. The most recent victory was claimed ten years later
by Jacques Villeneuve (CDN) on the Circuit de Catalunya. - After a
difficult qualifying in 2003 (Schumacher secured seventh place on the
grid while Montoya could only manage ninth), the race itself brought
better fortunes with the Colombian crossing the line in fourth place
followed by team mate, Ralf, in fifth. - Michael Schumacher
(Ferrari) won last year's Spanish Grand Prix, ahead of local hero
Fernando Alonso in the Renault. - Michael Schumacher claimed pole
position in 2003 with a time of 1:17.762 minutes, while his team-mate,
Rubens Barrichello, set a new lap record during the race with a time of
1:20.143 minutes. - The circuit has undergone modifications since last
year's event. Turn 8, a left-hand corner towards the end of the back
straight, has been moved back to accommodate a longer run-off. The
tighter design of the corner, combined with its earlier braking point,
should allow for an additional passing opportunity. This modification
reduced the length of the track from 4.730 to 4.627 kilometres. - The
2004 Spanish Grand Prix starts at 14.00 hrs local time on Sunday 9th
May. The Grand Prix will comprise 66 laps which equates to a race
distance of 305.256 kilometres. - INVITATION: Frank Williams and
Patrick Head will be attending the Allianz Media Services launch, which
will take place on Saturday 8th May at 18.45 hrs in the Paddock Club.
All accredited media are invited. Please see Silvia Hoffer (WilliamsF1
Press Officer) or Peter Phillips (Allianz Account Manager) for accreditation.