US GP: Williams Friday practice notes

It's been a trouble free Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the BMW WiliamsF1 Team with Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber concentrating their efforts on homework for Sunday's 73 lap race.

Nick Heidfeld:

"I am reasonably happy with today's practice. Despite not being satisfied with the car balance, my lap times this morning didn't seem too bad. As usual I did some long runs in the afternoon, mainly to sort out the tyres and at the same time we tried to improve the balance with some changes. So far so good."

Mark Webber:

"We've done some set-up work today, trying a few different things across the cars. We completed the tyre comparison, and the car ran reliably throughout. We know we have some work to do tonight, when we will go through all the data and we have some more improvements to do on the balance."

Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1):

"We have had a good practice day today with the focus being on tyre evaluation and engine cooling. We did not experience any problems with brake cooling around here. It is the opposite type of track to the last GP. We have also tried different set- ups on the two cars to further our understanding. This might explain the difference in the lap times of our drivers. Tonight we will look at the best set-up and tyre for the race."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):

"It was a very eventful first practice day. Of course Ralf's accident reminded us of his crash here last year. Luckily this time there was only damage to the car. Nick and Mark completed their scheduled programme. Both had to interrupt their long run because of the red flag. Apart from this, there were no problems and both the engines ran trouble free."

Nick Heidfeld
Chassis: FW27 06
(Spare car FW27 04)
BMW P84/5 engine: 1st GP
1st Practice: 4th, 1:12.804
2nd Practice: 5th, 1:11.825

Mark Webber
Chassis: FW27 05
BMW P84/5 engine: 1st GP
1st Practice: 9th, 1:13.082
2nd Practice: 13th, 1:12.578

-williams-