Nick Heidfeld has recovered from the back strain he suffered in testing and will compete in the San Marino Grand Prix at the wheel of a Williams-BMW fitted with a new aerodynamic package, the latest-compound Michelin tyres and a fresh engine.
Nick Heidfeld has recovered from the back strain he suffered in testing and will compete in the San Marino Grand Prix at the wheel of a Williams-BMW fitted with a new aerodynamic package, the latest-compound Michelin tyres and a fresh engine.
The German felt a twinge in his back when he corrected oversteer while testing his FW27 at the Paul Ricard circuit last week and sat out the rest of his session on the advice of a doctor. However, Heidfeld has fully recovered from the injury and hopes to finish strongly on Sunday because his Williams will be fitted with a fresh BMW engine following the previous unit’s failure in Bahrain.
“I will have a brand new engine for the next race, unlike many of the other drivers, which makes me a bit more confident for the upcoming weekend,” the German driver commented.
Williams-BMW had fine-tuned a new aerodynamic package for Imola, the Grove-based team’s technical director, Sam Michael, said.
“We have been testing tyre compounds, aerodynamic parts and general set-up of the FW27,” Michael said. “We have made progress. Imola has medium to high-speed corners, a couple of chicanes and heavy braking areas. It is also important to have good curb-riding ability without compromising high-speed stability, both of which are strengths of the FW27”.
“We have an aerodynamic upgrade package that will improve the car again to help us compete at the front,” he added. “We will also have two new tyre choices from Michelin. Imola is softer on tyres compared to the race circuits we have just been to. However, as the FW27 has not been close to the limits on tyre wear at the first three GPs, we have gone to even softer compounds.”