Formula 1
Piquet and Rosberg test next week
Nelson Piquet (BRA) and Nico Rosberg (GER) will both take part in a forthcoming BMW WilliamsF1 Team test at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Spain in early December. The two young protégés will join incumbent drivers Ralf Schumacher and Marc ...
Published: Nov 30, 2003, 4:24 PM
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Nelson Piquet (BRA) and Nico Rosberg (GER) will both take part in a forthcoming BMW WilliamsF1 Team test at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Spain in early December. The two young protégés will join incumbent drivers Ralf Schumacher and Marc Gené. The Jerez test will commence on Tuesday 2nd and conclude on Thursday 4th December. Piquet will test the FW25 on the 2nd and the morning of the 4th while Rosberg will run on the 3rd and in the afternoon of the 4th.
Rosberg and Piquet were selected for the one-off test roles as part of the team's ongoing commitment to developing emerging talent. Sam Michael, Chief Operations Engineer at WilliamsF1, highlights the importance of continually evaluating potential talent. "We are testing with the young drivers to evaluate their ability in an F1 car and whether or not they could assist with our testing programme in the future. They have been working with us over the last couple of months to ensure they are well prepared for the test and it's clear already that both are quite mature in their approach. This is another sign of WilliamsF1's contribution to the sport by assisting in the progression of the next generation of drivers."
The December test will be the inaugural Formula One outing for Piquet. The young Brazilian has impressed many industry commentators, particularly this year while racing in the British F3 Championship for family-run team, PiquetSports. Piquet finished his first season in the series in a respectable third position with six victories and nine pole positions to his credit. 2003 also saw Piquet contest the Zandvoort Malboro Masters.
In his first attempt, the talented Brazilian finished in second place. Prior to his debut season in British F3, he won a series of Kart championships as well as winning last year's South American F3 Championship. The young Brazilian took the title in dominant style with an impressive13 victories from 18 starts, 16 of which were from pole position.
The test will not be the first Formula One experience for 18 year old Rosberg, however, who was first invited to test the FW24 last December as a reward for his outstanding performance in the Formula BMW ADAC Championship. The reward reflected an outstanding season in which he secured nine victories out of 20, enough to claim the title.
At only 17 years old, the German was the youngest driver ever to take part in a Formula One test session. Despite his youth, however, Rosberg left a lasting impression on the team and managed to set a personal best time of 1:21.070 round the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Since his initial test, Rosberg has spent the 2003 season racing for Team Rosberg in the Formula 3 Euro Series. By the end of the season, he had claimed one race win and finished the year in 8th place in the Championship.
Piquet and Rosberg are not unfamiliar names in Formula One circles. Keke Rosberg, Nico's father, raced for WilliamsF1 from 1982 to 1985, winning all five of his career victories with the team and claiming his sole Drivers' title in the Williams Ford in his first season.
Nelson Piquet Snr, Nelson's father, is another motor racing legend who drove a Williams Honda in 1986 and 1987. In just two years with the team, Piquet claimed seven Grands Prix wins and a Drivers' title. Piquet's achievements that year also helped the team secure their third Constructors' Championship. One of Piquet's three Drivers' titles was won with BMW in 1983.
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