US GP Williams Friday notes

Day one of the United States Grand Prix was trouble-free for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team, despite both drivers feeling they have not yet found the right set-up for the FW23. At the end of the day Ralf Shumacher was ninth and Juan Pablo Montoya tenth. Ralf paid his respects to the American people by having the stars and stripes incorporated into his helmet design.

Ralf Schumacher
"We had some problems finding the right set-up today. The car was oversteering at the entrance to the corners and didn't have enough grip in the infield. It seems the low temperatures don't suite our tyres very well. Even though we did some useful homework for qualifying, completing 42 laps, I think we have already made our tyre choice for the race."

Juan Pablo Montoya
"It has been a pretty hard day for us; working on the set-up of the car has been quite difficult. It is fun to be here but we are struggling a bit with the balance of the car and hopefully tomorrow we will do much better. I think the track has too many slow corners so think they should consider doing something about this."

Patrick Head (Technical Director WilliamsF1)
"We have had a normal Friday in terms of evaluating tyres and the car set-up for race conditions and both cars were reliable. From the work we have done we think we will be able to chose the race tyre, and now we will focus on a set-up for qualifying."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director)
"This circuit is extremely challenging for engines. On one hand because of being on full throttle for more than 20 seconds - the longest of any track we race on - and on the other because of the centrifugal force in the oval section. Because of this it is very positive we had no engine problems today so we are happy after day one. This Grand Prix has a special meaning for the BMW as the United States is the most important market for us outside Germany."

Chassis
Schumacher: FW23-07
Montoya: FW23-08
Spare (Montoya): FW23-02