BRITISH GRAND PRIX - team and driver preview quotes

FIA Thursday press conference - Great Britain

Drivers: Jenson Button (Brawn GP), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren). Q: Gentleman, first of all. What have you been doing since Turkey? Lewis Hamilton: I have had a really busy time. As soon as I finished the race in Turkey I flew straight to Germany and I was working with Mercedes Benz and I had a pretty full on day with them. Tuesday I came back. Pretty much every day I have been working. I had the Sunday off, then all week this week I have been working. Obviously I have been in the factory, mostly appearances and I have been working on the launch of the Mercedes Benz drivers’ academy in Brooklands which was a great initiative to be part of. Then yesterday I had a great day. It was a very busy day. I went to the Kids Company with Vodafone and got to see a lot of underprivileged kids who are on the streets and have had lots of different problems with no family, no food and different things and they are rebuilding their lives. It is a great thing to be a part of and to put smiles on their faces. Then what else did I do? Q: The House of Commons? LH: I had a speech to make at the House of Commons which was pretty frightening. It has been pretty busy. I haven’t trained a day since Turkey. Jenson Button: I came from Turkey to the UK and did a PR day on Tuesday here just really to get a few interviews out of the way before the grand prix. I flew home that night to Monaco and I have spent about a week in Monaco which was lovely. Training up in the hills with my trainer, just getting away from it all. Very relaxing. Then I was back here on Tuesday. I had a photo shoot on Tuesday and yesterday at Brackley doing simulator work and a few other things. Then I headed down to Mercedes Benz yesterday afternoon for a few hours to spend a bit of time there and see what was going on. It was the first time I have been there, so it was a nice experience and good to see all the people who have given us a great opportunity this year. Then last night I was camping here. It has been a pretty relaxed couple of weeks considering the situation we are in, so it is perfect really. Q: What’s been the reception at places like Brixworth and Brackley? JB: Brackley is great. We have all been part of it all season. We have been together for a very long time, so nothing has really changed there. There are a few more smiles about the place. Brixworth was just a great experience and to get inside the engine and see the technical side of it which is a good experience. They have achieved so much over the last few years with McLaren and with us this season. They are doing a great job and it is good to sort of say a few words there as we haven’t spent any time with Mercedes Benz this season. It was the first time we were at Brixworth, so it was a good experience and hopefully both of us can have a good race this weekend for them. Q: What are your feelings about racing here at Silverstone? Drivers really feel this is a very special circuit and don’t want it to slip off the calendar. What are your thoughts about what is essentially your home grand prix? JB: It is a very special race. I think for both of us when we were learning how to drive in single seaters this was a place we enjoyed very much. It is your home grand prix, so it is always going to be very special. But also the British fans are fantastic. There are so many fans in Britain for motorsport and for Formula One. Last year was a sell out crowd and I am guessing it will be the same this year and you don’t get that in many circuits around the world, especially the way the economy is at the moment. Hopefully we can put a good show on for them this weekend. This is a circuit that I love. It is a fantastic, fast flowing circuit like Spa and Suzuka. It is one of the true greats and it has been for the last few decades. It is a pity it won’t be on the calendar next year. I think a lot of drivers will agree with me and a lot of fans will agree also. I just hope we have a British Grand Prix next year as it means a lot to us. LH: Jenson just said it all really. It is a fantastic circuit and for us when we were growing up seeing the history of the circuit and the winners that have been here and the world champions in the past. It is great to come here and try to in some ways emulate them and try to do same thing they did and bring the win back home for the Brits. The fans are incredible here compared to any circuit I feel through the year. This is the one place that has the best vibe and has the most people standing there. It could be thunderstorms, it could be any type of weather but they will still be standing up holding their umbrellas or whatever it is, especially last year. They never seem to give up with their support and it is as important to them as it is to us drivers and all the teams, so I will be pushing as hard as I can with my position to try and keep the British Grand Prix wherever it is. As long as we have a British Grand Prix it is the most important thing. Q: What are your hopes from this coming weekend? LH: I think Jenson understands what I am going through and how tough it is when you don’t particularly have the right package beneath you to be able to show what you can do or to get the right results. But when you are in that position you just maximise it. So all these years Jenson has been maximising what he had in the past and now he is maximising what he has now. It is the same for me. I am maximising the car that I have and just trying to finish all the races and trying to push the team forward. Here it is going to be a tough race as it is a high speed circuit but hopefully we have made some steps forward. We don’t have many update things coming for this race but fingers crossed we have maybe changed the set-up a little bit which will help but I guess we won’t really know until tomorrow. I doubt whether I will be able to tag along the tail of him but we will do the best we can. Q: You have won in the rain last year. Would you prefer rain this weekend? LH: Last year obviously I wanted it to rain and it did. But I am not too bothered either way. To be honest the more dry testing I get the better information I can get about my car and where we are with it and how to move forward. The more information we get to analyse the better. But if it rains I think this is a great track in the wet and it definitely gives you more of a chance, especially here, compared to some other circuits to make a bit of a difference, so it could be good for me either way. Q: Jenson, your feelings about racing this weekend? JB: I come into this race confident with the package that I have. The last few races have been fantastic and it has been a dream start to the season. This is a circuit that I enjoy driving and I know my team-mate enjoys driving here a lot also, so he is going to be good competition this weekend. In Turkey we expected the Red Bulls to be very quick in the high speed turn eight. I don’t think they had an advantage which was surprising. I am happy with what we have. We have got a little update aerodynamically, only small, but it’s about the small parts. You just keep building on what you have and hope it is going in the right direction. We will have competition here but I am happy with what we have and I am confident in the car. We have just got to hope in a way that we have a better Friday than we have done in the last few races because even though the end result has been great, working from where we were is quite stressful and I think in that environment that you can make mistakes, so we have got to hope that we get a reasonable balance tomorrow, so we can get some good testing done and hope we get the balance right for the weekend. Q: Just looking at both your respective Formula One careers one of you had success immediately and this year it has tailed off a bit. The other one didn’t have success and finally has had success now. Talk about one another’s career in a way and would you have preferred yours to be different? JB: Well, I mean we have been given what we have been given and that’s the way it is. You wouldn’t change it for the world and even though I’ve been through a lot of tough times in the past, even before this season, I’ve always said that I think the decisions I have made or what I have had to deal with, I wouldn’t change it as it makes it who you are. Now I have got the opportunity to show and to achieve with a very good team and a very good car. In a way it makes it very sweet for me but I am sure it is the same for Lewis, coming into Formula One and in his first couple of years achieving so much so early on. Not many drivers have been able to do that. I think I have been in Formula One for nine years now and eventually I feel ready to be winning races and I have the team that gives me the opportunity to fight for race victories almost every weekend we go to. I wouldn’t change my career in the slightest and I am sure Lewis wouldn’t but I will let him speak for himself. LH: He is right. I think for Jenson as he said with his nine years, even though he has not had the best equipment to be able to get the results that he wanted, clearly he has learnt a lot through all those years and I think it is really showing in his performances this year. He has done a fantastic job this year and I am sure it is from potential mistakes he may have made in the past and through struggles he has come out stronger than ever. Now he has finally got the car and he is probably driving as good as ever if not better than ever before and I think that is great for him. As for me I wouldn’t change my career. I have enjoyed it. I have had good and bad times. I have had a good couple of strong years, say for the last four years or so, and now I am going through not so good a patch. But it is another learning curve and it is part of life. It is what you learn in the tough times I guess that defines you and builds you as a character and as a human being. I am enjoying the experience, trying to embrace it and come out as strong as possible. QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Q: (Jonathan Legard – BBC) Lewis, you talked there about pushing to keep the British Grand Prix. What, practically, can you do in your position? Are you going to buy Silverstone or buy Donington? LH: Clearly that’s impossible, that’s not in the pipeline but no – Jenson wants to go halves! – we work as hard as we can, alongside the BRDC and as British drivers I think we can both, in our positions, not as role models but with our image, we can call up people we want to, whoever we want really, I think. If we want to call up the Prime Minister I’m sure we could easily! But no, I think we just want to show our support and show the importance of it. Perhaps people look at the British Grand Prix and perhaps don’t realise what it would be like without it. I think we should all step back and realise what motor sport would be like without it and understand that and then take action. I think we all need to pull together and support it. I think we need support from the government, we need support from other backers, wherever we can get it and as long as we have a British Grand Prix in Formula One it will always remain a great sport to be a part of. JB: We both agree that we would love a British Grand Prix. We obviously want it to be at a good venue but having a British Grand Prix is the point that we’re trying to push and it’s not just us two sat here, I think it’s the whole of Formula One. There are a lot of British people who work in Formula One on the racing side of things, on the journalism side of things, so to not have a British Grand Prix would be a real shocker for all of us involved and surprising, I think, for the fans, especially when we have packed out crowds at the races here. But it’s not our decision but we would obviously be very disappointed if we didn’t have a British Grand Prix on the 2010 calendar. LH: It’s not just us who are affected, us as the drivers, it’s you guys, the amount of jobs we are able to give people with these Grands Prix. There are thousands of people involved. It would be a shame to lose that. Q: (Juha Päätalo – Financial Times Deutschland) Jenson, last year at this same press conference, you challenged Lewis to do a triathlon and you said that this would be the only way I can be competitive this year. Looking back at what has happened, how does it feel, coming here as a championship leader, and if you would describe the difference and the feeling between last year and this year? And Lewis, are you going to challenge Jenson this year to do a triathlon? JB: It’s obviously a big change for me and for the whole team. Coming here last year we didn’t expect to be getting points, let alone fighting for a podium position and definitely not the top step of the podium but I still enjoyed the weekend. It’s always a nice feeling coming here because the fans do support you through the tough times as well as the good times. I still enjoyed my time at the British Grand Prix last year and we obviously had a bit of banter up here on stage but it was just a bit of fun. Yeah, a lot has happened in a season and that’s the way Formula One is, it’s up and down, up and down. It’s about being strong through the difficult times – if they don’t break you, they definitely will make you stronger and we’ve come back very strong this season and I’m leading the championship. For British motor sport, having a British champion sat up here, a British World Champion and a British driver who’s leading the championship the next season I think is fabulous for the sport. It’s great to be a part of that. LH: No, I’m not going to challenge him. Are you still doing it? JB: Yeah, I’ve got one in London but it was a bit of banter last year, a bit of fun. LH: No, of course. I think Jenson’s been preparing for the triathlon this year, so I think it would be pretty stupid for me to sit here and ask him for a challenge, considering he’s had two weeks of chilled time in Monaco and I’ve had two weeks flat out and no training at all. That’s pretty much how my whole year is. JB: Lewis does a bit more PR than I do at the moment. LH: I wish you luck for that triathlon, it’s pretty cool. I’ll be watching it. No, it will be wicked. JB: Are you going to come down? LH: Where is it? JB: It’s in London but it should be fun. (To everyone) If you want to sponsor me, by the way, just a plug out there, I’m doing it for Make-A-Wish Foundation, which I’m a patron for and if you want to give some cash, it’s justgiving.com/jensonbutton. Woo! Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) To both drivers: officially, your teams are out of the championship next season. Do you think it’s possible for that situation to change before tomorrow’s deadline? JB: Well, I don’t think that’s for us to discuss here, really. We’re not the people who have been in the talks, the serious talks, anyway, and I think all the team principals and team owners have been very, very busy over the last few weeks in meetings and it would be unfair for us to comment on the situation at this time, I think. Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) But it will affect you&ldots; JB: Yes, it does but it also doesn’t make any difference. We’re not going to change anything by saying what we think here. The important thing is that we’re involved in the discussions but not in front of cameras and not in front of you guys sat here because that doesn’t help the situation at the moment. Q: (Thierry Wilmotte – Le Soir) To both of you: isn’t what’s happening this season bad publicity for Formula One because it shows that Formula One is principally a case of having a good car more than having a good driver? JB: Formula One hasn’t changed over the last decade or so, or two decades. It’s a team performance and when we stop talking about what percentage a driver is and what percentage a car is we can get on with the racing and concentrate on having fun and enjoying it. The car is a big part of it but it’s a team effort, it’s every single individual and when you win the World Championship you win it as a team and it’s the same if you don’t do very well, you lose it as a team, and that’s the way it has been for many, many years. We all want to be in a good car but it’s also for us to try and make that happen. It’s taken me a long time but I eventually got there in the end. It’s a great sport and when people turn the TV on, I think they look for good racing and there has been some good racing this year within the pack and I’m sure it’s going to be as competitive throughout the season. I think it’s also good that there are other teams involved now. For many years it’s been Ferrari and McLaren and also Renault winning the World Championship and now there are other teams that are fighting at the front with those teams and I think that is good for the sport and I’m sure that over the next few years in motor racing, I’m sure those top teams are going to be there but they’re going to include Brawn GP and they’re going to include Red Bull and that’s what the sport needs. We need a lot of teams that are fighting at the front that are competitive. It’s no good just one team winning the World Championships year after year. I think it’s great that there’s so much competition out there, year on year. Q: (Rob Harris – Associated Press) Lewis, how difficult is it sitting there, next to Jenson, given the position you’re in and given the position you were in when you were sitting here this time last year? LH: We’re sitting in the same position! Oh yeah, DC was here. It’s not difficult at all. I feel very proud of what Jenson’s achieved this year. I’m glad that he’s been able to represent Britain and keep us fighting at the front. Definitely, if I’m not able to do it, I would definitely rather have a fellow Brit do it. Like I said, we’re very fortunate to have Jenson doing that. And me, you know, I’m sitting here, I’ve got number one on my car, so it’s still kind of a nice feeling, it’s still a great achievement that I’m still very proud of and I’m working as hard as ever. I’m still here, I’m still battling it out and fighting as hard as I can and hopefully we will be here for many more years. Q: (Will Buxton – Australasian Motor Sport News) Lewis, your whole demeanour at the moment seems very different to how it was at the start of the season, and not just in terms of everything that happened in Australia but the responsibilities of being World Champion, the amount of time you’ve spent doing PR. You’ve said that this season has helped you to grow as a person but how much has this season helped you to chill out and change your demeanour and become more comfortable with life in Formula One? LH: Yeah, I think it’s just that you’re growing all the time. I’m sure it’s the same for everyone. I remember when I sat in front of Nelson Mandela, he told me that he’s still learning today and he’s ninety years old. I took that on board and realised that every year, every day of my life I’m going to be learning something new. It was a very tough beginning of the season, knowing that we wouldn’t to be able to be challenging for wins and coming to the realisation, to really believe it. And even though you just keep pushing and pushing, to understand it and then to analyse it and try to contain the emotions and look after them and try to channel them in the right direction, all these different things, that’s what I’ve worked on and it’s definitely not been an easier year. It’s been just as hard as any other year but I feel that as a person I’m growing, I’m maturing and learning to deal with it and trying to remain positive, to push my team forward. I think it’s a great responsibility to have and I’m proud to do it, so I hope you see the difference, that’s a good thing. Q: (James Allen – Financial Times) Jenson, winning Monaco was obviously very special. Lewis was talking last week about winning the British Grand Prix in comparison with winning Monaco, he and Damon (Hill), and they both felt that this was the big one. Would you feel that, that winning the British Grand Prix would be even more special than the Monaco win? JB: If you look at it unemotionally it’s ten points if you win here, it’s like every other race. It’s a very emotional weekend for a British driver. It would be very special to win my home Grand Prix. But to not put pressure on myself, the great thing is that I will leave this race leading the World Championship still, by 16 points at worst. That’s the best way to look at it but it would be great to have a good race here but so much can happen. I’m just trying to stay relaxed at the moment.

Video preview - British Grand Prix Track Preview

Bridgestone

*Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone director of motorsport tyre development "Last year's race was wet and we have often seen changeable weather here so it could be interesting. Silverstone has an abrasive track surface and it does dry quite quickly from being wet. We have not used our new intermediate compound in a wet race yet. It is a soft compound but we are confident it will work well, even at an abrasive circuit like Silverstone. The low speed section of the track, before the start-finish straight, is a breeding ground for graining so we expect to see quite a lot of this here, especially at the beginning of the weekend. The majority of a lap at Silverstone is very fast so cars require good fast corner stability and the tyres need good heat and wear resistance. The last sector is lower speed so a good set-up has to work well here as well as in the high speed sections."

Ferrari

Great Britain GP: new package for the F60s Maranello, 16th June 2009 - The trip to the British Grand Prix will be tinged with nostalgia, as the 2009 version could well be the final F1 World Championship round to be staged at Silverstone, at least for the foreseeable future. In addition, there was a further element of nostalgia at the start of the week as Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro conducted a test session: admittedly this “session” was a pale imitation of what the teams would normally have been doing up to the start of this season, when at the behest of the F1 teams themselves, in order to cut costs, in-season testing was banned. Monday at Fiorano was one of the aerodynamic testing days still permitted within the rules: an aero test must only involve straight line testing and the Scuderia actually had to modify the safety barriers at its Fiorano track, as usually, the Armco only presents its “soft” side to the cars depending on their direction of travel around the track. Normally, test driver Marc Gene would have carried out driving duties at this test, however, he was given the day off, having only just finished racing in the Le Mans 24 Hours, the day before. How did our Spanish tester get on? He won. Therefore, it fell to Felipe Massa to sit at the controls of the F60. The Brazilian tried some new aerodynamic components, including a new front wing and other parts on the front end of the car. Silverstone will also see Felipe run a new chassis, number 277, which in line with the one Kimi has used for the past few races, is lighter than the one Felipe has driven to date. The aero test also saw the F60 run with new front suspension geometry, aimed at allowing a change in the car’s weight distribution, bringing it further forward. The car therefore had to complete another front end crash test, which it duly passed. The new suspension geometry is aimed at promoting more front end grip, which should help overcome one of the car’s Achilles heels, namely the fact it has struggled to get tyres up to operating temperature over one timed lap, which is an essential requirement in Qualifying. The ability to alter the car’s weight distribution with a more forward bias should also be a help at a track like Silverstone: in simple terms, in fast corners – a feature of Silverstone and the last race in Istanbul – it is best to have the weight moved forward, whereas at slower tracks it is best to have the weight biased towards the rear. This explains why Ferrari was very competitive in Monaco, or in Sector 3 in Turkey, as opposed to the first two sections of Istanbul Park. The F60, mainly due to the installation of the KERS system, has an inherent bias towards the rear in terms of its weight distribution. And, on the subject, of KERS a new lighter version of the package will be run on both cars this weekend. Also appearing at Silverstone will be new wheel flanges and a new mounting system for them, for when the wheels are changed during pit stops. Both Felipe’s and Kimi’s cars will be fitted with all these updates and the data gathered at this Fiorano aero run will come in very useful in setting up the cars prior to the first Silverstone practice session on Friday morning. Silverstone’s characteristics are similar to the last venue, Turkey, in that it has several high speed corners and fast flowing sections, all leading to a slow final sector. For the British Grand Prix, Bridgestone will be bringing the same tyres as were used in the last round, the soft and hard, although they will be operating at far lower temperatures than those experienced in Istanbul. Both Kimi and Felipe enjoy the high speed challenge of the English circuit and the Finn’s memories of Silverstone extend back to winning here in his Formula Renault days, prior to his F1 victory in 2007, his first year with the Prancing Horse. Raikkonen has four further F1 podiums to his credit here. Silverstone has proved less successful for Massa, whose best finish here is fifth. The sixty lap race has usually lent itself to a classic two stop strategy, neatly dividing the Grand Prix into three twenty lap sprints. However, as we have seen already this year, the question of tyre durability will have to be studied during Friday free practice before being sure how the race strategy will pan out. At the moment, the weather forecast is for dry weather over the three days of the weekend, which will see the sixtieth running of the British Grand Prix, the 43rd and as mentioned previously, possibly the last at Silverstone. The Northamptonshire track holds many memories for the Scuderia. It was here that Argentina’s Froilan Gonzalez gave the Prancing Horse its first ever F1 World Championship victory back in 1951, the first of four consecutive victories here for the Scuderia. There have been difficult memories, like the 1999 race when Michael Schumacher crashed and broke his leg and unusual ones like the 1998 event, when Michael won the race taking the chequered flag in the pit lane, or the 2003 race, when a priest ran along the track, before Rubens Barrichello made the most of it to win for Ferrari. Racing on the home track of the majority of Ferrari’s rivals has lost some of its significance, now that the British teams get no more testing here than the Scuderia, but the red cars have always been very popular with the knowledgeable British crowd who have always given the team a warm welcome. This weekend will be all about local boy Jenson Button and his Brawn team, while Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa will be concentrating on making the most of the changes to the F60 package for this weekend, in an attempt to move up the order and out of the unusual position of underdog, which it and other usually front running teams have found themselves in so far this season. Massa: "we can be more competitive this weekend" “I had an unusual experience on Monday – driving a Formula 1 car away from a race weekend! With the ban on in-season testing, the time between races will usually involve quite a lot of talk with the engineers in Maranello about what is planned for the car for the following races, but no actual driving. This time however, with our test driver Marc Gene having just finished competing in and winning the Le Mans 24 Hours, I was given the job of sitting behind the wheel for an aerodynamic test at Fiorano. I say “sitting behind the wheel” rather than driving, because to be honest, it’s not the most interesting thing for a driver and you are a more like a robot, simply driving the car up and down in straight lines. But, it’s very important for the team and the development of the car, so I was more than happy to do it. Just driving up and down a straight means you cannot give the engineers much feedback as to how the car feels, but by changing front wings for example and looking at the telemetry data, you can compare it to data gathered in the wind tunnel and see if the numbers match, which means you are on the right track. “On paper, this weekend’s British Grand Prix takes place at a track with some similarities to the last race in Istanbul, where we were not so competitive: this weekend’s track also features fast corners, flowing sections and a final slow sector and we will have the same two types of tyre from Bridgestone, but that doesn’t mean I think we will struggle as much as we did a fortnight ago. For a start, the new components we have on the car this weekend, including a front wing and a lighter chassis, should make us more competitive. But, more importantly, in Turkey we went backwards over the course of the weekend, after being very competitive on Friday and on Saturday morning. We now know why that happened, which is the most important thing: we believe that with the very high track temperatures, we ran too low on the downforce and should have run with more rear wing, because as the temperature rises, the grip from the tyres went down and we needed to compensate for that. As the temperature gradually got higher, our cars were running slower and slower in the first sector of the track; the one where you need the most downforce. In other words, the problem we had was related to the way we worked, rather than any specific fault on the car. “So I think we can be more competitive this weekend, with these changes to the car. Apparently this is the last time we will race at Silverstone and I have to say that I have always enjoyed racing here, even if my track record is nothing special, especially in the wet and if you think back to last year, I had a terrible afternoon in the rain. All the same, it is a nice track and I hope that where we go next for the British Grand Prix will be as good as Silverstone in terms of its layout and the pleasure it provides in terms of driving. I’m heading to the UK today Tuesday, straight from Maranello, as I am attending an event in London for Shell, which is fine for me, as I enjoy spending time in London and then I will head up to Silverstone on Thursday. “Whatever happens on the race track this weekend, the current political situation in the sport is bound to be making the headlines again. When I am driving the car, I never thing about it and simply concentrate on my job of driving as quickly as possible, but outside the cockpit, I think about these problems, as they do affect me, as the relate to my future and the future of Formula 1. We are all very concerned about the situation and I follow the developments closely, as it affects my professional life, even if I can have no real influence over how the situation evolves: that’s down to the people who govern the sport and those in charge of the teams. We need our sport to be in better shape, because over the past few months there have been some very stupid fights. Everyone needs to work hard to make the sport what it should be for the fans, the teams, the sponsors and the drivers. We don’t need this fighting. The situation looks bad at the moment, but if agreement can be reached then it can have a healthy future. If not, then we need to look seriously at what is the best option: as the teams appear to be united, then maybe it is time to look at doing something different that could be better for the sport.” Raikkonen: "a place on the podium would be a great result" There’s always lots of wind at Silverstone and it often rains, even in the summer. The track conditions are changing extremely quickly so that it’s difficult to find the right set up for the car. Usually, when you’re leading in the Championship, you hope for stable weather conditions, but this year it’s different and we try to consider this variable part of the fun of racing in England. For the first time we’re racing at Silverstone without any prior test sessions. The Team prepared some new solutions, which we will test on Friday morning: as never before this year it’s fundamental to exploit the three free practice sessions as much as possible. At Silverstone the performance in the fast corners is very important, where you need a high aero downforce. We hope that the new solutions will help us to improve in an area, which brought us into difficulties in Turkey. As I’ve said several times before we need to be patient: we’re improving thanks to the hard development work, but we’re still not able to fight for a win against the Brawns. I’m extremely confident and I’m convinced that after another couple of races we’ll have closed the gap between the leaders and us. I know that this is what our fans want from us and we’re giving it our all to succeed. It will be a difficult British GP: a place on the podium would be a great result. Form me this is really significant track. This was almost the starting point of my international career in the minor Formula series and I always loved to race here. That’s why it’s a bit sad that this should be the last edition of the race, but I have to admit that I also really like Donington: I’ve won there too already&ldots;.

Brawn GP

The British Grand Prix, Round eight of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship, and Brawn GP’s home race, takes place this weekend at the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire, just eight miles from the team’s factory in Brackley and 20 miles from Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines in Brixworth. Silverstone is one of the fastest race tracks on the current Formula One calendar and a firm favourite with many of the drivers. Formerly a World War II airfield, the circuit staged its first non-championship race in 1948 before hosting the first Formula One World Championship Grand Prix in May 1950. Renowned for its fast, sweeping bends in the first half of the lap through Copse, Becketts and Stowe, followed by the slower corners of Club, Abbey and the final Priory and Luffield complex, the 5.141km track requires high downforce and an emphasis on aerodynamic efficiency. Brawn GP’s Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello are both big fans of Silverstone, having raced at the circuit throughout their careers since the junior formulae. Both drivers have enjoyed points finishes at the track with Rubens taking a memorable win in 2003 and an assured third place in the rain-affected 2008 race. ROSS BRAWN, TEAM PRINCIPAL Q. What are your thoughts going into Brawn GP’s home race at Silverstone this weekend? “Looking back to the last race in Turkey, I was extremely pleased with the performance of the team at Istanbul Park and the way in which we were able to maintain our competitive position. We worked very hard ahead of the race to identify any potential areas of weaknesses versus our competitors and the improvements that we saw over the weekend proved that the team is able to respond quickly and take the necessary steps forward. We have been quietly making progress over the past few weeks and have a series of upgrades to come, including new rear and front wings for the race this weekend. *“The British Grand Prix at Silverstone will be a particularly special weekend for our team this year. Our base in Brackley is just eight miles from the circuit and we are very proud, as a British team, to be going into our home race leading the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships. I have been fortunate enough to have been on the winning team at Silverstone in the past and it is an extremely special feeling that I would love to share with this team. We are holding a family day at our factory on Sunday for everyone who is not working at the track and it would be fantastic to head back there in the evening with a great result to celebrate what should be a very memorable weekend. Whilst it is very sad that this may be the last race at Silverstone as it is such a wonderful race track, the most important thing is that we retain the British Grand Prix for the future.” JENSON BUTTON Q. What does the British Grand Prix and racing at Silverstone mean to you? “The British Grand Prix is always an amazing weekend and I can’t wait to race at Silverstone in front of our home fans on Sunday. To be leading the Championship going into my home Grand Prix is something that I’ve never experienced before and it puts a smile on my face every time I think about it. I’ve raced at Silverstone from some fairly tough positions in the past but the fans have always been so supportive and I’d love to give them a performance that they can really enjoy this weekend. We took a good step forward with the balance of our car in Turkey but know that our closest competitors are going to be good in the high-speed corners so it will be an interesting weekend. If we come away with a good result, I’ll be so happy on Sunday! “The layout of Silverstone makes it one of the classic racing circuits and along with Suzuka and Spa, it has to be one of the best tracks out there. Every driver who races here loves the place as it’s so fast and you can really push the car to its limits. It’s a great circuit for the fans as you can see just how amazing the cars are from the speed, the change of the direction and the braking. I particularly love the section of the track around Becketts which is one of the best complexes in Formula One and a great place to watch the race. I have so many memories of Silverstone going right back to Mansell’s win in 1987 and my first Formula One race there in 2000 when David Coulthard won and I finished fifth. It’s strange to think that this might be our last race at Silverstone and I can’t imagine not having a British Grand Prix so we’ll be going all out to put on a fantastic show.” RUBENS BARRICHELLO Q. You’ve raced at Silverstone for most of your motorsport career so it must be a favourite track of yours? “Silverstone is one of my all-time favourite circuits and I absolutely love racing there. The track is fantastic as it is one of the few remaining on the calendar that are high-speed, fast-flowing and really allow you to let the car go through the quick corners. It is also a very safe track and that’s important from a driver’s perspective. Becketts is probably the most impressive corner with a 290kph bend which leads into a challenging complex. Overtaking can be pretty spectacular if you get it right in one of the high-speed sections although the best opportunities are probably the slower corners at Vale and Abbey. “I have some amazing memories from Silverstone over the years and it feels really sad that this might be the last time that we race there. I spent so much time testing and racing at the circuit when I was younger that it almost feels like a home track and the crowds are always supportive, even if you aren’t British! My win here in 2003 was really special and it’s fantastic to be returning this year with a car that has the potential to compete for the victory. There’s a lot of expectation going into the weekend as our team’s home Grand Prix but we will remain calm and just focus on doing the best job that we possibly can.” Silverstone Stats Circuit Length: 5.141km Race Distance: 308.355km Number of Laps: 60 Full Throttle: 65% Brake Wear: Light Tyre Compounds: Soft / Hard Downforce Level: High 8/10 Tyre Usage: Medium Average Speed: 230kph (143mph) Race Weekend Schedule (all times are local) Friday 19 June Practice 1: 1000 - 1130 Practice 2: 1400 - 1530 Saturday 20 June Practice 3: 1000 - 1100 Qualifying: 1300 - 1400 Sunday 21 June Race: 1300

Force India

The British Grand Prix from 19 – 21 June marks the halfway point in the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship. The race is held at the historic Silverstone circuit in the heart of England, right opposite Force India’s HQ. As such, the British Grand Prix is seen by many personnel as the team’s ‘home’ race. Following a solid Turkish Grand Prix, which saw the Force India Formula One Team enter Q2 for the second consecutive round, the team will be looking to continue its progress at Silverstone with the next stage of its aero development programme. Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal Halfway through the season now, how would you review the team’s performance so far? I’m very pleased. I think we’ve shown excellent progress, and in this sport, which is so competitive, it’s unreasonable to expect some miraculous results. We made Q2 in Monaco, we made Q2 again in Istanbul, obviously not by chance, but on merit and that is a huge step forward. Now we’ve had two in a row, and hopefully with a new upgrade to come in Silverstone we should make Q2 going forward for the rest of this season, and without too much difficulty. We’re not quite in the points yet, but we’re a good midfield competitor. I always said that the idea would be to get some points this year, be regularly in the points next year in 2010. And I’ve talked about podium finishes in 2011 to coincide with the Indian GP. I think I’m pretty much on track! How frustrating is it not to have scored points – your ultimate aim – this year? It’s so competitive now, and being so close is just part of the game. I would have loved to have had a point. We were just one place away in Monaco and also Australia, but there’s always the next race. One has to move on. Turkey was race number seven, there are still 10 more to go, and we’re not even half way through the season, although it seems like that with all the activity that is surrounding Formula One&ldots; Silverstone is traditionally where teams introduce the next stage of development. Does Force India have anything in the pipeline for this event? Yes, we have a fairly large upgrade scheduled for this weekend. We will introduce changes to the front wing, bodywork and floor with one or two detail updates elsewhere as well. It’s a significant step forward and I am very pleased that the team has been able to explore, build and then get this on the car before the summer break. Our rate of development has, I would say, been quite impressive given the small number of people and the limited budget we have available and I hope the overall package will take a step forward this weekend. Is Silverstone a special race for the team? Absolutely, the home team is playing on the home ground! Because it’s home to us Silverstone is special, and we’re unveiling a new package for Silverstone. And hopefully we’ll get the improved performance out of the car and get to Q2 without difficulty. The World Twenty20 is on as well, so all my cricket friends are in the UK. Kevin Petersen will probably attend – as you know he plays for my team. There will be a lot of people from India and South Africa, so I am looking forward to a good mix of all my business interests! Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM02/01) Apart from the German Grand Prix, does Silverstone feel like a home race for you? For sure. The team is based about 400m from the main gates and Silverstone feels like a second home to me now as I go there so often. The race is a very special one, not just because it’s the home race, there is something about the atmosphere that has a buzz unlike anywhere else. The British fans love their motorsport and it’s not just for Lewis or Jenson, you really feel their enthusiasm for the sport in general. The track is also a very good one. It’s very fast and there are some great sections such as the Copse to Maggotts section that you have to take quickly but be gentle on the gas and on the brakes – I know, I’ve had some offs there in the past! The final complex slows the lap down a bit and you lose your rhythm slightly but the final turn on Woodcote can be tricky to get right. The walls are very close! *What are your aims for this race? We have a new aero package at Silverstone and I am really looking forward to driving it. We’ve looked at the numbers back in the factory and it shows a clear improvement so I am keen to get my hands on it and really try and mix it up in the midfield. I had quite a good race in Turkey and could fight with both the McLarens and also a Brawn so just a little bit more performance could see us in the hunt for points. But it’s so competitive out there we have to be right on top of our game right through from free practice. Silverstone often has changeable weather. Would this be an advantage? Last year the rain was really bad but it didn’t go in our favour! But generally speaking we do seem to perform well when the conditions are mixed. If the race in Malaysia hadn’t been stopped I think I could have been well placed as we had stopped for the right tyres and were fuelled to the end, and then of course we had a great race in China. But regardless of the conditions you’ve got to perform and we’ve shown we can be competitive in the dry as well. I don’t want to be sitting waiting for the rain at every race. Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM02/04) The Turkish Grand Prix was a disappointing outcome for you. Are there any positives you can take from it? Turkey was just one of those races. We’d been struggling with a brake problem for most of the weekend and changed all the systems to see if it made any difference. Unfortunately on the way to the grid the car started locking up and we had to make some more changes on the grid. The repairs made some improvements but then three laps into the race the front was locking again and I couldn’t get the maximum power on the straight. We came into the pits to try and fix it again but in the end it was too risky to continue. I haven’t had good luck at Turkey for the past three years! For these reasons it’s hard to be very positive about my weekend as it was a bit frustrating, but as a team we’ve continued to move forward. Adrian got into Q2 and perhaps I could have as well if I hadn’t had the brake issue and we’re clearly racing with the field. That’s a clear step forward from last year. Silverstone is the team’s home race effectively, being so close to the factory. Do you think of this race any differently? Silverstone is such a historic track and the atmosphere is always great that racing there is always a special feeling, but for sure I do feel something more now I’m with Force India. The whole team work so hard and quite often for little reward in terms of points and results, that I really hope I can put on a good show while they can see it. With the new upgrades coming through I’m pretty confident that would be possible. Do you enjoy the circuit? For me, it’s one of the best circuits of the year. The first part of the circuit, from Copse to Becketts is very high speed, taken nearly flat. We slow down just a little bit at the end of the pit straight, then we go flat again. We lift the throttle pedal just a little for four at the middle of the complex and then back on it again for five. Even turn seven, Stowe, is another nice, quick fourth gear corner before a hairpin in turn eight, Vale. Through Club it’s quite difficult as the car is sliding around on four wheels, with the rear end very nervous. Under the bridge is now quite easy, but a few years ago it was much more difficult. The last corner through the complex is typically understeer but you need to have a good exit as then you’re across the start finish line. If this year will be the last race at Silverstone, I’ll be sad to see it go.

Red Bull preview

GOODBYE SILVERSTONE GRAND PRIX To commemorate the last Silverstone GP, we asked: What's your favourite memory? ADRIAN NEWEY: The 1973 Silverstone GP was my first F1 race. I went with my parents and we had tickets for the Woodcote stand. I remember my father went to get us a burger each; I dropped mine through the grandstands so I ran down to recover it from the dirt below. The race started and when Jackie Stewart came round he was miles in the lead at the end of the first lap. But then, Jody Scheckter lost it right in front of us and caused a pile up of around 12 cars. I was only a young lad and it looked horrendous, I thought people must have been killed but miraculously there was only a broken leg and everyone climbed out of their cars. It was a very dramatic way to be introduced to the sport and it definitely gave me a bug for racing. They red flagged the race and it was re-started; amazingly Jackie didn't win despite his dominant lead, I think he spun off, although that's stretching my memory! I was about 13 or 14 at the time. It's sad that this might be the last Silverstone GP; it has a lot of memories for me. We had some good outings there during my time with Leyton House and then with Williams. In 1991, Nigel Mansell won in Silverstone with my first Williams it was right in the middle of `Mansell Fever', so you had all the Sun readers turning up to cheer Nigel on. We've had a few good races since and lots of happy memories. Silverstone is the circuit where the British Grand Prix should be held, it seems a great shame that politics have conspired that it won't be the case in the near future. MARK WEBBER: A great memory from Silverstone was being on the front row of the grid for Red Bull last year. The race didn't turn out as planned, but qualifying on Saturday was very rewarding. The Red Bull Racing factory is very close to Silverstone and there were so many people there supporting us that to start the race on the front row was great, it was a very special day. I don't think this will be the last Silverstone GP. Donington is a beautiful bike track and Silverstone is a fantastic car track, so I think they should leave them as they are I think we'll be back. *DAVID COULTHARD: Before I started racing in 1990, I remember standing at Stowe corner listening to a V12 Ferrari coming out of the morning mist through Maggotts on to Hangar Straight. You could hear it before you could see it and, in those days, the engines all sounded very different: a V12 against a V8, so, of course, you knew it was a Ferrari coming and it was a shiver-down-your-spine moment that I have never forgotten. In terms of my own racing career, winning at Silverstone back-to-back and in 2000 was pretty special also it'll be another 992 years before someone can win it in two millennia, so that's one record that should stay for a while! I think that Silverstone is a high-speed, get stuck in, challenging race track and given the free choice I'd rather race at Silverstone than Donington. CHRISTIAN HORNER: One of the best memories I have of Silverstone came soon after I'd passed my driving test. I took my Volkswagen Beetle up to the Silverstone F1 tyre testing that they used to do there. It was June, 1991. I managed to sneak under the fence and got into the pit lane, so I was really close to the cars and drivers. It was the first time I'd ever seen Ayrton Senna in the flesh I remember he'd just had an accident on a jet ski and had several stitches in the back of his head. I instigated a conversation with him, which he probably thought was completely irrelevant, but I was keen to talk with him. I also spent a considerable amount of time admiring the Williams which must have been one of Adrian's first cars I was an aspiring go-karter at the time. I've enjoyed many good races there as a driver and also, as a team owner, we won the support race there (Formula 3000) three years in succession. We've had some good fun on Sunday evenings there too, so a lot of good memories. Hopefully it won't be too long before it comes back. *SEBASTIAN VETTEL: This will only be my second Silverstone GP so not as many memories for me as some of the other guys. I think it's a shame that Silverstone will no longer be on the calendar. It's a circuit with a great tradition and a lot of fast turns, which makes it really interesting for the fans attending the race as well as the drivers. Silverstone is only a short drive from our factory in Milton Keynes and nearly the entire Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Technology workforce will be at the track cheering for me and Mark so the atmosphere will be very special. IAN MORGAN: I will never forget standing in the Woodcote grandstand with my dad at Silverstone in 1985. We were watching qualifying and Keke Rosberg was driving for Williams. What I saw was the most amazing thing. When Keke came round the old chicane at Woodcote on his first run he was completely sideways, the whole crowd just went silent. He got pole, but had it taken off him so he went out for his next run and got it back again. He was just so much quicker than anyone else; the way that the whole crowd went silent as he approached us was something I'd never experienced before. It was incredible and definitely cemented my decision to get into this business. I grew up in this area and my first grand prix visit was in 1973, so I've been to Silverstone many, many times and have a lot of memories. It's sad to lose what is clearly the home of British motor racing, but whether it will actually be the last ever remains to be seen. I think we'll be back.

Williams

Silverstone circuit in a nutshell One of the most challenging tracks on the schedule (although it is due to disappear from 2010 when the British Grand Prix switches venue to Donington Park). Drivers need to be as finely honed as their cars to cope with the immense g-forces through Copse, a 170mph right-hander, and the high-speed Becketts complex. Logic dictates a two-stop race, but the fickle British weather always has to be considered. Talking technical Car dynamics Average turn angle indicates the average angle of a circuit’s corners expressed in degrees. The higher the average turn angle, the more acute the corners in the circuit’s configuration and the greater propensity for understeer to compromise lap time. At Silverstone, the average turn angle is 1080 - 20 less than the average for the Championship. The circuit therefore has less effect on understeer than half the circuits on the calendar. The end of straight (EOS) speed at Silverstone was 300kp/h in 2008. The British track ranks as having the 4th lowest EOS speed on the 2009 calendar, and this is one indicator of the wing level typically selected to optimise the downforce/drag ratio. Meanwhile, Silverstone has the 3rd highest average lap speed of any of the tracks on the calendar. Pitlane & refuelling strategy The pitlane length and profile (i.e. corners in the pitlane entry) contribute to the determination of the optimum fuel strategy. The pitlane loss at Silverstone is approximately 21.8 seconds, the 4th most penalising pitlane in the Championship. To complete a normalised distance of 5km around Silverstone requires 2.38kg of fuel against an average of 2.42kg per 5km across all circuits this season, making the circuit the 8th most demanding track of the year in terms of fuel consumption. Safety car Another key contributor to the determination of race strategy is the likelihood of safety car deployments, which are influenced by weather considerations, the availability of clear run-off areas that allow racing to continue while recovery takes place and the circuit profile, especially the character of the entry and exit into turn one at the start of the race. There have been 6 safety car deployments in the last 9 races at Silverstone, making it the 5th most likely race to produce a safety car period. Temperature, pressure & humidity As an example, it is a long observed tradition that drivers arriving at Interlagos complain about a lack of grip and an absence of engine power. Having become acquainted with a baseline of engine and aerodynamic performance during the season, the climb to 750 metres above sea level for one of the final races can, courtesy of the reduction in air density, rob a Formula One car of engine power, aerodynamic performance and cooling. The losses can come close to double digit percentages and thus have a very real impact on car performance. Air density is a factor of the prevailing ambient temperature, which varies most significantly by season, air pressure which is closely linked to altitude and, to a much smaller degree, by humidity. Thus if races are run at the same time each year, the factor that tends to have the greatest bearing on air density is elevation. Silverstone is 155m above sea level and has a relatively low pressure of 997.69mbar with a relatively low ambient temperature of 21°C, so engine power will be average. What the drivers say Thoughts after Istanbul Nico “I really enjoyed the Turkish GP! After struggling a little bit with tyre choice as there was very little difference between the option and the prime, we settled into the weekend, made it into Q3 again and I felt confident that we had a good car for the race. Making up four places in the first lap was a great way to start the race, it would have been nice if I’d caught Trulli, but fifth is still the team’s best result this season. We have to keep scoring points at every race if we’re going to make progress in the Constructors’ so getting those four points was important for us.” Kazuki “Istanbul was obviously disappointing but it was one of those things that happens to most drivers at some point or other. It’s just frustrating that I was having a great race and I was on for my first points of the season when it happened to me! We took some new parts with us to Istanbul and they seem to have helped us make some progress and close the gap to the cars in front a little, so that’s encouraging to take with us to Silverstone.” Thinking about Silverstone *Nico “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 year! 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.” *Kazuki “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.” Reflecting on the team’s home GP *Kazuki “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 “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.”

Renault

Fernando Alonso: “Silverstone is a great place to drive a Formula One car” Fernando, you missed out on points in Turkey – sum up your feelings for us... It was a really frustrating race for the team. The track conditions were poor at the start of the weekend and so we had to work hard to find the right balance with the car. In qualifying we decided it was best to run with less fuel to get a good grid position, but that meant I was lighter than the cars around me. If you pit early you’re always at risk of getting stuck in traffic when you rejoin, and that’s exactly what happened to me. I pushed hard in the race, but we could only manage tenth, which is a bit frustrating. Do you believe the team can get back to the front in the second half of the season? I have a lot of faith in this team and I know that everybody is working hard to improve our situation. We’ve been together a long time and have shown before that we never give up. But we need to be realistic because all the other teams are pushing just as hard to develop their cars and so it’s not easy to take a big step forward. We just need to keep adding parts at each race to make sure we can fight for points and hopefully podiums on a regular basis. What’s your state of mind as you approach the British Grand Prix? I remain optimistic and determined to get a better result at Silverstone. The R29 has always worked well in high-speed corners and so we should be more competitive this weekend. We will also have some new developments, which should give us some extra performance. In terms of the track, it’s a great place to drive a Formula One car and as this is probably the last time we will race at Silverstone, I will make sure I enjoy the experience. Nelson Piquet: “Silverstone almost feels like a home race for me” Nelson, you were out of luck in Turkey – tell us about your race... It wasn’t a great weekend and my fate was pretty much decided by the brake problem I had in qualifying. After that we did our best to try and choose a strategy that would work for the race, but we knew it would be difficult to score points starting so far down the grid. However, I still took some positives from the weekend as we found quite a good balance with the car and I had some fun battles in the race, especially with Lewis [Hamilton] when I overtook him at the end of the back straight. *After seven races this year, where do you feel you can improve as a driver? It’s clear that I need to perform better in qualifying as starting so far down the grid is really hurting me in the races. The problem is that all the teams are so close this season and there are a lot of cars all fighting at the same level – a few tenths can be the difference between sixth and sixteenth on the grid, and so you really can’t afford to make any mistakes in qualifying. *What are your expectations for Silverstone? It’s a track that I love and hopefully we can go there and get a good result. It’s the local race for Enstone and so we always have good support there and the British fans are really enthusiastic about Formula One. It almost feels like a home race for me as I’ve been living in the UK for five years now and it’s a track where I raced a lot earlier in my career. As I’ve already said, qualifying will be crucial, especially due to the high-speed layout of the track which makes overtaking very difficult. Bob Bell: “We head to Silverstone confident of delivering a better result than we did in Turkey” Bob, the team endured a tough weekend in Turkey. Was the result a fair reflection of the team’s competitiveness? I don’t feel it was a completely true picture of where we are at the moment. Fernando had some issues in qualifying with tyre warm-up and didn’t get the perfect lap which hurt his grid position. Had he started higher up, he probably could have avoided some of the traffic after his first pit-stop and scored some points. With Nelson also having problems in qualifying, it was always going to be a tough race for him, but he still pushed hard and got as much out of the car as he could. Both Fernando and Nelson have urged the team to improve the car – can you react quickly? Yes, we are reacting and one of the things that we’ve done well this year is to get the new developments on the car as quickly as possible. The twin-diffuser was a good example of that as such components normally take up to fifteen weeks to introduce, but we cut that down to five weeks, which was a tremendous credit to the team. We will continue to react quickly and when we find a development that brings the desired result, we will do everything in our power to get it on the car as soon as possible. Looking ahead to Silverstone – is the high-speed layout likely to suit the R29? We’ve got reasonably high expectations for Silverstone, although we’re remaining realistic because we know we’re not suddenly going to be fighting for the podium. The high-speed nature of the track should suit us and the R29 will work well in the quick corners. Our braking performance is probably an area where we are losing out at the moment, but Silverstone is not especially demanding on the brakes and so we go there confident of delivering a better result than we did in Turkey. *What developments are planned for Silverstone? We have a development to the diffuser, which is a reasonable step forward, as well as an upgrade to the front wing package. We explored some developments to the front wing in Turkey and will be running it again in Silverstone with further enhancements that we believe will improve the car. We also have some mechanical changes, more to do with functionality than performance, but they’re still important and should help us. Silverstone is the local track to Enstone – is it a special race for the team? It’s a very special race for all the teams based in the UK as it’s a focal point in the middle of the season. Usually a lot of staff from the team go to the race and there is always a special atmosphere which all the teams enjoy. We go to every race determined to do the best job we can, but we’d love to put on a good show in Silverstone. Can the team be back fighting for podiums by the end of the year? That’s certainly our intention. If you look at our qualifying performance as a measure of car development pace, we have been improving steadily and the gap to the fastest car in Q2 has been falling consistently, just as it did last year. This year the gap to the leaders is falling at a higher rate and that gives us the belief that we can be back challenging for podiums by the end of the year. Silverstone: Tech File The Silverstone Grand Prix circuit is famous for its high-speed layout, particularly the first half of the lap, which includes one of the finest sequences of corners of any track in the world. The high-speed nature means Silverstone is tough for tyres and engines as the drivers will not touch the brakes at any stage during the first half of the lap. Corners range from 180 mph sweepers to the long, slow complex at the end of the lap. The car must also cope with the bumpy surface and capricious, gusting winds that always affect the former airfield. Aerodynamics Downforce levels used at Silverstone are medium to high in order to give grip for the quick corners in the first half of the lap. This is not too much of a handicap down the straights, which are not especially long and the braking zones are short, which makes overtaking difficult. The lack of heavy braking also allows the team to run some of the smallest brake ducts of the year, which helps to optimise the car’s aerodynamic performance. The fastest part of the lap is the Maggots and Becketts sequence (turns 2 to 5) as Fernando explains: “The run through Maggots and Becketts is a really challenging and enjoyable part of the lap. The speeds are high, especially on entry, and so it’s important to have a responsive car for good change of direction. We don’t touch the brakes at any stage through these corners and simply lift the throttle to keep the car online. The high speeds also make this a very physical part of the lap and we experience loads of about 4g in the cockpit.” Ride Ride is an important characteristic at Silverstone, where maintaining consistent aerodynamic performance is so critical for delivering grip in the quick corners. The surface is quite bumpy, nowhere more so than under braking for Vale (turn 8), where the uneven surface can unsettle the car. The drivers also tend to drift out onto the kerbs exiting the quick corners in order to take the fastest line, which can make the circuit seem bumpier than it is. Suspension We run the car with a forward mechanical balance at this circuit – essentially with a stiff front end and softer rear end. The stiff front gives the car a good change of direction in the high and low-speed corners, while the softer rear end gives better grip under traction, exiting turns 9, 11 and 16 in particular. Tyres Tyres are always given a hard time at this track, especially because of the numerous high-speed corners, and this means that Silverstone is among the toughest tracks of the season for tyre wear. Bridgestone will therefore provide the soft and hard compounds from its 2009 range in order to cope with these challenges. Ambient conditions As a former airfield, Silverstone is inevitably exposed to the wind – and this can have a big impact on car performance. Gusting wind alters the aerodynamic balance of the car and makes handling unpredictable, particularly in the high-speed corners. The driver must be able to judge the direction and strength of the wind, and adjust his driving accordingly. Strategy Fuel consumption is high at Silverstone, as is the time penalty for carrying extra fuel weight. This means that it is a circuit where strategies rarely vary from the norm, as two extra laps of fuel could cost nearly two tenths per lap. Expect to see most teams running a “standard” two-stop strategy, which is generally slightly forward-biased for the front runners in order to ensure good grid position and clean air in which to race in the early stages. With overtaking nearly impossible at this circuit, track position is all-important. Engine Silverstone gives the latest generation of V8 engines a thorough workout with just under 66% of the lap spent at full throttle. Despite the reduction in downforce with this year’s regulations, the percentage of full throttle remains similar to last year due to the grip offered by the slick Bridgestone tyres. The main priority is to ensure the engine is responsive at high revs as the drivers take the quick corners, such as the sweeping right-hander of Stowe (turn 7), on either full or partial throttle. Nelson explains: “Stowe corner is the first time in the lap that we touch the brakes. We actually turn into the corner and brake at the same time so that we hit the apex at about 200 km/h. It is possible to overtake here, but as it’s such a small braking zone you really need to slipstream on the Hangar straight and be alongside before the corner to make the move stick.”

Toyota

Jarno Trulli: "It was very satisfying to get back on track with our strong result in Turkey. I believe we belong at the front of the grid this year and it was important to bounce back and show how competitive we really are. The team has pushed hard with development and we must continue to do this to close the gap on the cars in front of us. I expect our car should go well at Silverstone as we have been very competitive on circuits with similar characteristics, so I am fired up to fight at the front again. "Silverstone is a special place to race because of the passionate fans and the history surrounding the track. Personally I am not a huge fan of Silverstone and it hasn't always been kind to me, although I was one of the fastest cars last year in the wet. But it is an important circuit to Formula 1 and it will be a loss. If this is the last Grand Prix at Silverstone for a while, I hope I can leave there with some happy memories." *Timo Glock: "I am looking forward to the British Grand Prix and I think we have a great chance at Silverstone. It's an enjoyable place to race because the fans are so enthusiastic about Formula 1 and it's a really exciting layout. So it is a pity the Grand Prix is leaving Silverstone but then again new venues can be exciting too. The main feature of Silverstone is speed because there are some fantastic fast corners which are really good fun for a driver. "This year I am particularly looking forward to this race because our car should be strong at this type of track. We were really competitive in Turkey with some new parts on the car and we expect to build on that this weekend. It was unfortunate my qualifying didn't go as planned in Istanbul because I could have been up with Jarno in the top six but I am really motivated to make sure everything goes to plan this weekend. The front of the grid is pretty close at the moment so if we get the maximum from our package then we can be battling with the fastest cars." Pascal Vasselon, Senior General Manager Chassis: "We expect to be strong at the British Grand Prix because the lay-out should suit our package. So far this season we have been extremely competitive at tracks which require high aero efficiency so we have high hopes for Silverstone. With the exception of Monaco we have been strong at all tracks and Turkey was a return to form for us. Even though we are in the top three in terms of performance we are still missing a little in order to be systematically contending to win. That is our target and we are working hard to close the gap. We expect to build on our Turkish performance and deliver a genuinely competitive car this weekend."

McLaren

Lewis Hamilton: "The two greatest things about racing at Silverstone are the fans and the track itself. It's great to see and meet people from all across the country and the world who have made the journey to Silverstone for the Santander British Grand Prix. When I'm in the car, I can actually see the fans around the circuit waving banners and cheering. It's as if they were racing every lap with me - incredible! "Driving the track is incredible too. I love Silverstone – it's an amazing place to drive. Copse, Becketts and Bridge are all absolutely fantastic, flat-out corners that really show you the power and grip of a Formula 1 car. It's a perfect place for the race, so let's hope it's not the last time we race at this track." *Heikki Kovalainen: "Silverstone: what a fantastic circuit! I got my first Formula 1 pole position here last year and I remember how great the car was to drive on the limit. I love fast corners – it's when a Formula 1 car really feels at its best and your whole body is just on the limit. While we know our car won't be at its best through the fast corners, the challenge as a racing driver is to push to the limit so I'm just going to try my hardest. After a couple of disappointing races, it would be fantastic to get back into the points in one of the team's home races." *Martin Whitmarsh - Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: "Our home race has been highly successful for us in the past. We've won the British Grand Prix on 14 occasions – 12 of those wins coming at Silverstone. The most recent, of course, was Lewis's fantastic victory in the rain last year – which stands as one of Formula 1's greatest-ever wet weather drives. For this year, we come off a difficult race in Turkey, determined to do better in front of our home crowd." *Norbert Haug - Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "Silverstone is a great track with a unique layout. We have fond memories of this traditional circuit with Lewis's superb victory in the rain, more than a minute ahead of the second finisher last year, certainly being the most memorable moment. One year later, however, we will not be in a position to win. Since the beginning of this season we are in a catching up process. This is because we have not yet managed to get the best technical package out of the new rules in contrast to what we achieved with the old regulations in previous years when we built a winning car which we fought for the world championship with and won it. "Nevertheless, everybody in the team is highly motivated to further reduce our gap to the top – particularly on fast circuits. We are currently experiencing tough times, but this is not new for us: after a year without victories in 2006 we missed our target to win the title by one point in 2007 and then, a year after, we clinched the world championship with Lewis in 2008. We all work in a calm, focused and concentrated way to get our job done. And we will manage to do so – but certainly not overnight."

BMW

*Robert Kubica: "I always like to go racing at Silverstone. The British fans are amazing. It is a historic motor sport place and you can always feel the special racing atmosphere there. Usually the weather is quite unpredictable at Silverstone. Wind plays an important role. Especially in the highspeed corners it can have a big effect on the car's behaviour. From a driver's perspective the circuit is quite challenging. The first sector is very fast and has a couple of real high-speed corners. I think Silverstone might be a track that suits our car." *Nick Heidfeld: "I've always really liked driving at Silverstone and I've been there many times. I first raced at the track in Formula 3000 and then did a lot of kilometres there in my early days as a Formula One test driver. I've always enjoyed competing at the circuit but, despite the number of laps I've covered there, for some reason it has never been one of my showcase tracks, unlike Budapest or Suzuka. Last year's race in Silverstone was great. In the middle of all the chaos caused by the weather we opted for the right tyres, and I was able to pull off several good overtaking manoeuvres and finish second. "The whole opening section at Silverstone is fantastic - very fast and unmistakable. I would be really disappointed if Silverstone did end up being taken off the calendar. I've never found the circuit outdated - traditional yes, but not antiquated. In addition to the wonderful corners at the track, the very special atmosphere generated by the fans would be a big loss." *Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director: "Going into the British Grand Prix we are well aware that we still have a serious amount of work to do. However, we can now build on our performance in Istanbul. We fitted a doubledecker diffuser for the first time in Turkey and the effect was clear. Our car was fast enough to score points thanks to our own performance. Of course, nobody within the team is satisfied with the result, but we will use it as a platform to put the next steps into action. "We have increased our speed of development and will arrive at Silverstone with another package of new components. From now on we will introduce significant improvements to the car at two to three-race intervals, and these will include further development stages of the doubledecker diffuser. We are a long way away from writing off the 2009 season." Willy Rampf, Head of Engineering: "To be quick at Silverstone you need to have a car with a lot of downforce, but above all one with very good balance. The track is characterised by its many medium and high-speed corners, and it is critical that the drivers carry a lot of speed out of them. Maggots-Becketts- Chapel is one of the best and most challenging combinations on the Formula One calendar. The track surface is pretty rough, which means that tyres come in for a good deal of punishment. Bridgestone is bringing the same two compounds to Silverstone which did such a good job in Istanbul. "We used the double-decker diffuser for the first time in Turkey and took a step forward as a result. This was certainly pleasing, but we are still far from satisfied with the situation. Our intention is to introduce improvements to the car at short intervals. We will be running a further developed front wing at Silverstone with the aim of improving the balance of the car. I am confident we can continue our upward trend."

Q&A WITH WILLIAMS F1’S TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, SAM MICHAEL

MONDAY 15 JUNE, 2009 Q: Are you pleased with how the FW31 has performed at recent races? SM: Our performance as a team is measured by our position in the Constructors’ Championship. We’re lying in sixth at the moment but I don’t think the FW31 is the sixth fastest car; I think we’re faster than that, as we’ve proved many times in qualifying and with the positions the drivers have run in during the race. If we look at our gaps to the fastest times in qualifying, we were 0.4s off in Melbourne, 0.6s off in Malaysia, Shanghai and Bahrain, 0.3s off in Barcelona and, in Monaco, the gap was down to zero. We didn’t run at the end of Q2 in Monte Carlo but, when we were on track, we were setting the quickest times. In Turkey, the gap reverted back to 0.4s, so we’re gradually getting closer to the front. Q: How has AT&T Williams fared in terms of reliability? SM: Our reliability has been good. We had an issue with Kazuki’s car in Shanghai when a flat tyre caused a large amount of wheel slip and the differential failed as a result. We also had a problem with Kazuki’s engine in Bahrain but, apart from that, it’s been pretty good. *Q: How much of an advantage is the Kinetic Energy Recovery System? SM: At faster tracks, such as Silverstone, the car needs the right weight distribution through the quick corners. If by running KERS you hurt the tyres too much through these corners, you’ll lose out in the race, so the best track for KERS so far has probably been Monaco. We’re still pushing as hard as we can to get our KERS onto the FW31. We’re developing both the flywheel and the battery systems, but we’ve put more effort into the flywheel programme over the last 18 months and we’re making progress on reliability every week. We want to race it as soon as possible, but we’re not going to put it on the car until it’s fully reliable. Q: How have Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima performed in the opening European rounds? SM: Most drivers improve year-on-year, whether they’re a rookie or a World Champion, and our drivers are no different. Turkey marked Nico’s 60th Grand Prix so he now has a considerable amount of experience to fall back on and he’s doing a good job. Kazuki is closer to Nico this year and he’s been unlucky to miss out on several Q3 opportunities by the narrowest of margins. He’s definitely improved since last year, but the field is much tighter now which means that even the smallest performance differential equates to a significant difference on the grid. Q: Has the political situation distracted you from your job in any way? SM: In terms of my technical job, not at all. We spent a bit of time looking at the two tier regulations, but not a lot. We try not to spend too much time thinking about politics at Williams F1 because our focus is making racing cars. Q: Do you expect to be competitive at Silverstone, the team’s home race? SM: We’re looking forward to the British GP. The whole of sector one at Silverstone is dominated by high speed corners and it’s a very quick track. The FW31 is a big improvement over last year’s car and now performs well in high speed corners so we should be more competitive there than last year. We’ll also be introducing some more improvements to the car, so hopefully we’ll have a good race.

Q & A with Renault's Bob Bell

Q. Bob, the team endured a tough weekend in Turkey. Was the result a fair reflection of the team's competitiveness? Bob Bell: I don't feel it was a completely true picture of where we are at the moment. Fernando had some issues in qualifying with tyre warm-up and didn't get the perfect lap which hurt his grid position. Had he started higher up, he probably could have avoided some of the traffic after his first pit-stop and scored some points. With Nelson also having problems in qualifying, it was always going to be a tough race for him, but he still pushed hard and got as much out of the car as he could. Q. Both Fernando and Nelson have urged the team to improve the car - can you react quickly? BB: Yes, we are reacting and one of the things that we've done well this year is to get the new developments on the car as quickly as possible. The twin-diffuser was a good example of that as such components normally take up to fifteen weeks to introduce, but we cut that down to five weeks, which was a tremendous credit to the team. We will continue to react quickly and when we find a development that brings the desired result, we will do everything in our power to get it on the car as soon as possible. Q. Looking ahead to Silverstone – is the high-speed layout likely to suit the R29? BB: We've got reasonably high expectations for Silverstone, although we're remaining realistic because we know we're not suddenly going to be fighting for the podium. The high-speed nature of the track should suit us and the R29 will work well in the quick corners. Our braking performance is probably an area where we are losing out at the moment, but Silverstone is not especially demanding on the brakes and so we go there confident of delivering a better result than we did in Turkey. Q. What developments are planned for Silverstone? BB: We have a development to the diffuser, which is a reasonable step forward, as well as an upgrade to the front wing package. We explored some developments to the front wing in Turkey and will be running it again in Silverstone with further enhancements that we believe will improve the car. We also have some mechanical changes, more to do with functionality than performance, but they're still important and should help us. Q. Silverstone is the local track to Enstone – is it a special race for the team? BB: It's a very special race for all the teams based in the UK as it's a focal point in the middle of the season. Usually a lot of staff from the team go to the race and there is always a special atmosphere which all the teams enjoy. We go to every race determined to do the best job we can, but we'd love to put on a good show in Silverstone. Q. Can the team be back fighting for podiums by the end of the year? BB: That's certainly our intention. If you look at our qualifying performance as a measure of car development pace, we have been improving steadily and the gap to the fastest car in Q2 has been falling consistently, just as it did last year. This year the gap to the leaders is falling at a higher rate and that gives us the belief that we can be back challenging for podiums by the end of the year.