Potential but no points for Williams
In front of packed grandstands, today’s Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos delivered a thrilling Championship decider and produced a new British World Champion in Lewis Hamilton. Predicted rain fell earlier than anticipated when a heavy shower drenched parts of the circuit before the formation lap and delayed the start by ten minutes.
Both AT&T Williams drivers were subsequently caught up in a first corner incident prompted by the wet conditions, although neither suffered terminal damage. From 18th on the grid, Nico Rosberg climbed six places over the course of the race, finishing the last Grand Prix of 2008 in 12th. Driving an accident damaged FW30, Kazuki Nakajima crossed the line in 17th place. Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on his maiden Drivers’ crown and to Ferrari for another victory in the Constructors’ Championship.
Nico Rosberg: "I am generally quite pleased with my race. Starting 18th on the grid and finishing 12th in such difficult conditions is ok. I think I drove a good race, I had a great start and everything worked well. A long season is over and I am now really looking forward to the winter. Thanks to the whole team for their efforts in a difficult year and congratulations to Lewis for winning the Championship, he really deserved it."
Kazuki Nakajima: "That was a very disappointing race and pretty much over for me in the first corner. The car took a lot of damage to the bodywork and to the suspension which compromised my pace a lot. It looks like it was a great Championship fight between Hamilton and Massa, my congratulations to Lewis."
Sam Michael, Technical Director: "Well done to Lewis for what I suspect will be the first of many Championships! It was an interesting race for both our cars; there was potential, but ultimately no points today. Both drivers had decent starts and Nico gained several positions around the outside at Turn 1. Unfortunately, Kazuki was hit from the side and then spun but luckily the damage was not terminal.
"Although we have had some strong races this year and a couple of podium finishes, development of the FW30 was not enough to remain competitive. Reliability was again solid, with only one mechanical DNF in 36 starts. Some time ago, we arranged our internal resource to concentrate on development for ‘09. Everyone at the factory is now fully focussed on next season in order to ensure we have a much more competitive car next year taking into consideration the new aerodynamic rules, slick tyres and KERS. Thank you to all our staff, partners and technical partners for their efforts this season."
