Nico's Notes from Silverstone
10 July 07
The British Grand Prix was a frustrating race because the FW29 was a quick car, yet I was unable to unleash its potential because I was always stuck in traffic. In the end, 12th place was the best I could manage.
Had I not had a technical problem in qualifying, which cost me about 20kph down the straights, I am sure I could have fought for points because the car was well-suited to Silverstone's fast sweeps. In Saturday morning practice I was fifth quickest and set myself the goal of qualifying in the top six. As it was, I qualified 17th, which was the first time this year that I failed to make it into Q2.
The race was always going to be tough from 17th on the grid, and so it turned out to be. I drove very aggressively early on to move up to 12th place by lap three, but I got stuck behind David Coulthard and, in the end, 12th was the best I could manage.
Still, it was great to be at Silverstone because it’s an amazing track. The first sector is really fast and challenging, and particularly the first corner. I took it in seventh gear at 275kph (171mph), which was pretty awesome. It was also fun to experience the British crowd at its noisiest because there were a lot of people at the track to support Lewis [Hamilton]. The drivers’ parade was spectacular and it created a great atmosphere in which to go racing. It was quite similar to Barcelona in that way.
I stayed in my motorhome at the BRDC campsite. There was a drivers’ area on the inside of the Abbey Chicane and I was parked alongside Rubens Barrichello. The weather improved throughout the weekend and on Saturday evening most of the drivers had barbecues, which was fun.
Away from racing, I took an interest in the tennis from Wimbledon over the weekend. It’s a great tournament and I couldn’t believe it when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal got through to the men’s final. Those two are amazing players and it’s great for tennis that they keep meeting in the finals. But it came as no surprise that Federer emulated Bjorn Borg in winning five straight titles. He is awesome on grass.
There was also the start of the Tour de France in London, but I’m not such a fan of cycling because of all the doping scandals you hear about. Just talking about it reminds me of the dope test I had to do at Magny-Cours last weekend: I had to pee into a bucket with a guy watching me – and I mean really watching me! It's very difficult to produce the goods when you’re being watched by a man.
Looking ahead, we have a test session at Spa Francorchamps this week, where we have some new parts to try on the FW29. Then it’s off to the Nurburgring for the next race. It’s a track that I know well from the junior formulas and I think our car will be really strong there. I can’t wait.
Until next time,
Nico
Had I not had a technical problem in qualifying, which cost me about 20kph down the straights, I am sure I could have fought for points because the car was well-suited to Silverstone's fast sweeps. In Saturday morning practice I was fifth quickest and set myself the goal of qualifying in the top six. As it was, I qualified 17th, which was the first time this year that I failed to make it into Q2.
The race was always going to be tough from 17th on the grid, and so it turned out to be. I drove very aggressively early on to move up to 12th place by lap three, but I got stuck behind David Coulthard and, in the end, 12th was the best I could manage.
Still, it was great to be at Silverstone because it’s an amazing track. The first sector is really fast and challenging, and particularly the first corner. I took it in seventh gear at 275kph (171mph), which was pretty awesome. It was also fun to experience the British crowd at its noisiest because there were a lot of people at the track to support Lewis [Hamilton]. The drivers’ parade was spectacular and it created a great atmosphere in which to go racing. It was quite similar to Barcelona in that way.
I stayed in my motorhome at the BRDC campsite. There was a drivers’ area on the inside of the Abbey Chicane and I was parked alongside Rubens Barrichello. The weather improved throughout the weekend and on Saturday evening most of the drivers had barbecues, which was fun.
Away from racing, I took an interest in the tennis from Wimbledon over the weekend. It’s a great tournament and I couldn’t believe it when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal got through to the men’s final. Those two are amazing players and it’s great for tennis that they keep meeting in the finals. But it came as no surprise that Federer emulated Bjorn Borg in winning five straight titles. He is awesome on grass.
There was also the start of the Tour de France in London, but I’m not such a fan of cycling because of all the doping scandals you hear about. Just talking about it reminds me of the dope test I had to do at Magny-Cours last weekend: I had to pee into a bucket with a guy watching me – and I mean really watching me! It's very difficult to produce the goods when you’re being watched by a man.
Looking ahead, we have a test session at Spa Francorchamps this week, where we have some new parts to try on the FW29. Then it’s off to the Nurburgring for the next race. It’s a track that I know well from the junior formulas and I think our car will be really strong there. I can’t wait.
Until next time,
Nico
Posted at 12:00am on 10 July 07
tagged with nico.
