Further modifications for Williams

The two week break following the Spanish Grand Prix afforded Williams Cosworth a four day test session in Vallelunga, Italy, last week. Mark Webber, Alex Wurz and Narain Karthikeyan carried out an extensive programme, including the evaluations of aero and mechanical specifications in preparation for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Over the four days, the trio covered nearly 2,500 kilometres. A quick trip to Santa Pod in the UK for starts practice with Narain Karthikeyan on Tuesday this week finalised the team’s homework for the race. Both the team’s race drivers made their regular trips to Grove between the races to catch up with staff, before consultations with their engineers ahead of the Grand Prix.

As part of the team’s scheduled development programme, Webber and Rosberg’s FW28s will have further aerodynamic upgrades and Monaco-specific devices.

Last year the team took a double podium position at Monaco with Nick Heidfeld taking second position, just ahead of Webber.

Mark Webber “Monaco is certainly a very special race on the calendar for everyone involved in Formula One. It’s an historic event and one we all want to do well at. We had a good result there last year and I hope we can improve on the previous race in Barcelona by quite some margin and get some solid points for the team. I love the challenge of Monte Carlo and, as a sporting event, the atmosphere is absolutely amazing. I really hope it will prove to be a turn in fortunes, and form, for the team. It can’t come soon enough after the last race and I’m just looking forward to getting there.”

Nico Rosberg “Monaco will be a special weekend for me. Racing in the town where I have lived all my life, and with all my friends supporting me on such a fascinating circuit, will be great. I had a great race here in GP2 when I finished third and, although the track will be quite different in a Formula One car, I'm going into the weekend with a strong belief that we can do well.”

Sam Michael, Technical Director “Last week we were at the Vallelunga circuit, near Rome, where we spent the four days mainly testing tyres for Bridgestone, but also working on mechanical and aerodynamic set-up for Monaco’s maximum downforce circuit. Because Monaco is a street circuit, the increase in grip levels over the race weekend is significant. Formula One tyres are very soft for Monaco and therefore a lot of rubber is laid down on the track. Also, as with any street circuit, there is a lot of oil and other contaminants on the road surface."

"Overtaking is extremely difficult in Monaco, but not impossible, as Williams showed in last year’s race, so qualifying and race strategy are key to a good result here. We have an aerodynamic upgrade on the FW28 especially for this race to ensure we get the best out of this maximum downforce track.”

Simon Corbyn, Cosworth Head of F1 Race Engineering “Monaco presents a unique challenge for Formula One engines due to the nature of the circuit, it also places maximum demands on engine driveability and effective control strategies rather than outright engine performance. It is vital to qualify well here to maximise the opportunity of a good race result and the 2006 qualifying format will no doubt make Saturday afternoon pretty exciting."

"Both Mark and Nico are scheduled to start the event with fresh CA2006 Series 4 engines fitted with the latest performance and reliability updates. Cosworth had a good test last week in Vallelunga and we’re looking forward to Monaco.”