Media contact:

WilliamsF1
Liam Clogger
Tel: +44 1235 7777 06
liam.clogger@
williamsf1.com
Silvia Hoffer
Tel: +44 7977 275 838
[email protected]
BMW
French Grand Prix 1
st
3
rd
July 2005 PREVIEW

Formula One returns to European soil next weekend for the tenth round of the
championship, the French Grand Prix. Following events in Indianapolis, the BMW WilliamsF1
Team is eager to resume normal service and provide the sports fans with an entertaining
race. Having won five out of the fourteen French Grands Prix to have been staged at the
Circuit de Nevers, WilliamsF1 equals Ferrari as the most successful team ever to have raced
at Magny-Cours.

The aggressive development programme continues with significant new aero parts for the
FW27 which the team hopes will set a foundation for a positive result in France and the
ensuing Europeans rounds.

Nick Heidfeld:
I have good memories of Magny-Cours, having won there while competing in F3 and
F3000. Although some people dont like this Grand Prix because its in the middle of
nowhere, it doesnt really affect the drivers as it means we can concentrate on the actual
racing, which I prefer. I like the track itself because its challenging, especially the two quick,
blind chicanes which also have very tight apexes. We are taking a new package to Magny-
Cours, so I hope we will make a good step forward with it as we need to keep scoring the
points to remain competitive in the standings.

Mark Webber:
"I always enjoy going to Magny-Cours as it's in rural France, and in a part of the country I
particularly like. The weather is usually good and the whole feel to the weekend is quite
relaxed. The French GP is a pretty low key event in terms of off-track activities for the drivers
as well. I enjoy being among the French fans and actually having the time to be able to
concentrate on the job in hand without any distractions.
Magny-Cours is a great track. It has a good mix of high and low speed corners and a short
pit-lane which lends itself well to several pit stops and some good racing. We are quite
excited by the prospect of some new aero parts on the car which well be running for the
first time at Magny-Cours. I hope were able to get the most out of them and enjoy a good
start to the return of the European part of the championship."

Sam Michael (Technical Director, WilliamsF1):
We return to Europe next week for the start of the second half of the season, which begins
in Magny-Cours. The team has been testing at Jerez, in Spain, last week with Antonio
Pizzonia and Nick Heidfeld in an effort to further improve the FW27 and continue tyre
testing for Michelin. For Magny-Cours, we will have some aerodynamic improvements that
are part of our on-going development programme to bring performance to the car. Some
parts are more obvious, some not.

Magny-Cours has three high speed areas, the first section of the lap and the two chicanes,
as well as some slow and medium speed corners. It is traditionally a very smooth circuit
which has an interesting end to the lap because the track creates a good line into the pit
lane. This means that time lost in the pit lane is low. The tarmac at Magny-Cours is more
dependent on temperature than normal which means lap times vary significantly during the
day. Strategy will be interesting in Magny-Cours because of the pit lane time and typically
high tyre degradation that we see at Magny-Cours.


Jrg Kottmeier
Tel: +49 170 5666112
[email protected]



Media contact:
WilliamsF1
Liam Clogger
Tel: +44 1235 7777 06
liam.clogger@
williamsf1.com
Silvia Hoffer
Tel: +44 7977 275 838
[email protected]
BMW
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
Over the last few days since Indianapolis we have been busy setting things in motion for
the future beyond 2005, as well as discussing recent events in the USA. But now we want
to turn our full attention to the next race and the rest of the 2005 season. We will be doing
everything in our power to further improve the statistics of the BMW WilliamsF1 Team.

The circuit at Magny-Cours has an average full throttle percentage. However, we have
experienced a number of hot races there and high thermal loads naturally mean
considerable demands on reliability. The two engines with which Mark and Nick will be
racing in France are the same as those run in Indianapolis and therefore have covered a
limited distance.


Stats and facts:

Circuit/Date Circuit de Nevers, 3rd July 2005
Start time (local/GMT) 14:00 hrs/12:00 hrs
Lap/Race distance 4.411 km/308.586 km (70 laps)
Winner 2004 Michael Schumacher (Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro)
Pole 2004 Fernando Alonso (Mild Seven Renault F1 Team)
1:13.698 min
Lap record Michael Schumacher (Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro) 1:15.377
min (2004)
F1 statistics:
BMW WilliamsF1 Team

94 starts, 10 wins, 17 poles
WilliamsF1 pre-2000 356 starts, 103 wins, 108 poles
BMW pre-2000 97 starts, 9 wins, 15 poles


History and background:

This years race will be the 15
th
time the French Grand Prix has been held in Magny-Cours.
The first Grand Prix was held in 1950 in Reims (which went on to host 11 further GPs),
making this years race the 55
th
Formula One race to be held in France. Other French tracks
to have hosted the event include Paul Ricard (14 times), Dijon and Rouen (5 times each),
Clermont-Ferrand (4 times), and Le Mans (once).

Despite its rural setting, the Circuit de Nevers is a modern race track with a relatively level
surface. The circuit presents a challenging combination of fast and slow corners, along with
several overtaking opportunities.

To date, WilliamsF1 has celebrated five wins in Magny-Cours and eight pole positions. The
latest victory was secured by Ralf Schumacher in 2003 for the BMW WilliamsF1 Team.

In 2001, Ralf Schumacher claimed the first of the Anglo-German partnerships 17 pole
positions.




Jrg Kottmeier
Tel: +49 170 5666112
[email protected]




Media contact:
WilliamsF1
Liam Clogger
Tel: +44 1235 7777 06
liam.clogger@
williamsf1.com
Silvia Hoffer
Tel: +44 7977 275 838
[email protected]
BMW
Jrg Kottmeier
Tel: +49 170 5666112
[email protected]
Mark Webber #7 Nick Heidfeld #8
Born 27.08.76, Queanbeyan (AUS) 10.05.77, Mnchengladbach (DEU)
Nationality Australian German
Residence Aylesbury (GB) Stfa (CH)
Marital status Partner Ann Partner Patricia
Height 1.84 m 1.64 m
Weight 74 kg 59 kg
F1 debut 2002, Melbourne 2000, Melbourne
GP starts 59 93
Points 2005 22 (7th place) 25 (6th place)
Points total 48
(2/2002,17/2003,7/2004)
53
(12/2001,7/2002,6/2003,3/2004)
Best qualifying Grid 2
(MAL 2004, ESP 2005)
Grid 1
(EUR 2005)
Best race 3rd place
(MCO 2005)
2nd place
(MCO 2005, EUR 2005)


Results 05 Mark Webber Nick Heidfeld
Qualifying Race Points Qualifying Race Points
GP Australia 3rd 5th 4 7th accident -
GP Malaysia 4th accident - 10th 3rd 6
GP Bahrain 5th 6th 3 4th DNF -
GP San Marino 4th 7th 2 9th (G8) 6th 3
GP Spain 2nd 6th 3 5th (G17)
G id)
10th -
GP Monaco 3rd 3rd 6 6th 2nd 8
GP Europe 3rd accident - 1st 2nd 8
GP Canada 14th 5th 4 13th DNF -
GP USA 9th - - 15th - -