cora

1/10/08 (itv-F1) : Nico expecting return to midfield in Fuji Nico Rosberg has expressed early doubts about Williams' competitiveness at the forthcoming Japanese Grand Prix. Rosberg took second place and the best result of his Formula 1 career around the floodlit streets of Singapore last weekend, after he benefited from a safety car and a delayed response from the stewards to his illegal pit stop. But the 23-years-old German doesn’t feel that the sweeping and technical corners of the Fuji Speedway will suit the Williams in the same way that the point and squirt street circuit of Singapore did. “I don’t think Fuji is going to be a great track for us,” Rosberg said on Williams’s official podcast. “The track in Singapore was one where we could do well as we’ve seen now, but Fuji is not really going to be our great strength.” Yet Rosberg added that the high chance of rain may play into his hands, as the Williams FW30 has been quick at the wet grands prix this season. “But we’re still going to give it everything, we need to try and get some good results for the end of the year,” he added. “And anyway, if it’s in the wet are car seems to be very strong so if it’s wet we still have a good chance there.” However, Williams’s chief operations engineer Rod Nelson is keen to sample a dry track, after the deluge at last year’s Japanese Grand Prix left the team with very little useful data for this year’s event. And Nelson reckons that the FW30 will be well suited to a dry Fuji Speedway, with the possible exception of the long sweeping turn eight that is heavily reliant on aerodynamic grip. “The circuit was new to us last year, but much of the time it was absolutely tipping down with rain so we didn’t get much dry running and I’m kind of hoping to see what it’s like this year [in the dry],” he said “There’s a monster right hand corner turn 8, which I think we will possibly struggle with, but the rest of it, I don’t see why we shouldn’t make hay while the sun shines.”

Sport-Bild (28/09/08) : Pokerkönig Rosberg von Ralf Bach Unabhängig vom Ergebnis der Trainings oder vom sportlichen Verlauf des Wochenendes allgemein: Nico Rosberg lief vier Tage mit einer Aura eines Gewinners durch Fahrerlager und Hotelhalle. Der Grund: Nico gewann ein Pokerturnier in Venedig kurz vor dem Abflug nach Singapur. Darüber wurde unter den Gamblern und verkappten Hütchenspielern in den Hospitality-Zelten fast mehr geredet als über richtige Reifenwahl und Rennstrategie. Der italienische Privatsender Sky Sport hatte das Turnier für aktuelle und ehemalige Formel-1-Piloten organisiert. Teilnehmer waren Nico, Robert Kubica, Giancarlo Fisichella, Giorgio Pantano, Sandro Zanardi, Tonio Liuzzi, Adrian Sutil und “die Mutter aller Gambler”, the one and only Eddie Irvine. Nach und nach schieden die wahren Zockerprofis aus. Übrig blieben Nico und Robert Kubica. Kubica hatte aber Chips für 27.000 Euro auf der Hand, Nico nur noch 3.000. Kubica ist heute noch fassungslos: „Ich hätte locker warten können, eine Runde, zwei oder drei… und was passiert? Nico gewinnt 23 mal hintereinander.“ Selbst der Manager des Casinos in Venedig war baff: "In meinen 25 Jahren Dienstzeit habe ich das noch nie erlebt.“ Anzeige Das Ergebnis: Nico gewann die 30.000 Euro Preisgeld – er spendete die Hälfte für einen guten Zweck. Vater Keke, der mit Nicos Mutter Sina und Nico selbst von Donnerstag auf Freitag in Sinas Geburtstag reinfeierte, erzählt mir: „Von Testfahrten oder sonst welchen Formel-1-Veranstaltungen erzählt mir Nico gar nichts mehr. Aber das Poker-Turnier in Venedig war kaum beendet, da trudelte schon eine SMS meines Sohnes ein: „Ich habe Kubica nicht geschlagen – ich habe ihn zerstört.“

Nico's Singapore GP Column (30 September 08) : What a fabulous result! My second podium finish of the year and a career-best second place. I’m absolutely delighted, both for the team and me. I hope this result gives everyone at the factory in Grove a big morale boost; you all deserve it. My FW30 was strong all weekend in Singapore: I was inside the top 10 in every practice session and the car showed great pace throughout the race. I could overtake people when I needed to and the balance was consistent on both the prime and the option tyre. But that’s not to say it was a straightforward race, as I’m sure most of you saw on TV! When the first Safety Car was deployed on lap 15, I thought my chances of getting a good result were finished. I had to pit for fuel while the pitlane was still closed and awaited my punishment from the stewards. Luckily, they had to deal with the pitlane dramas going on at Ferrari before turning their attention to me and by the time of my 10-second stop-go penalty on lap 28, I’d built up a 13 second gap at the front of the field. That meant I was able to rejoin the race behind Fernando [Alonso]. Thereafter I drove as hard as I could and had to withstand a lot of pressure from Lewis [Hamilton] towards the end, but I had everything under control. When I crossed the line, I felt a huge sense of relief, both for the result and for the fact that the race was over because it was very hot out there! It was like sitting in a sauna for two hours. I went to the Amber Lounge on Sunday night to celebrate with the team. One ofnr 3 the great things about staying on European time for the week was that we could party away until 0700 Monday morning, yet we get into bed only one hour later than normal! It was awesome. Now I’m off to Bali for a few days’ holiday with my girlfriend, Vivian. I plan to do a bit of surfing while we’re there, even though people keep telling me to be careful of the coral. It lies close to the shore on some beaches, so you need to choose your location carefully. Frank, if you’re reading this, rest assured that I will! Then it’s off to Fuji Speedway for the Japanese Grand Prix in two weeks time. The weather was awful last year and Kazuki [Nakajima] tells me to expect more of the same this year. Now, where’s my brolly?

Singapore GP Race - 28/09/08 Podium! Nico Rosberg led home a double points score for the AT&T Williams team, in the process claiming a career-best second place in the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix. In an incident-filled and physically demanding race, Rosberg overcame the disadvantage of a stop-go penalty with a superlative drive in Formula One’s first night race to score eight points and the team’s best finish since the European Grand Prix in 2005. Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima contributed a further point to the tally with a spirited drive to eighth place. Nico Rosberg:"It was a race of so many ups and downs for me. It started badly as I ended up behind a heavy Jarno Trulli and I absolutely had to get by him to allow my strategy to work. It was quite a hairy moment getting past because it is so bumpy to outbrake at turn 7 and I couldn’t get close at turn 1, the only two places where overtaking is possible. Anyway, having eventually cleared him, I couldn’t believe it when I saw that the safety car had come out just after the team had called me in for my stop and I thought that’s the end of it. Before my stop-go penalty, I just had to push like mad and do qualifying lap after qualifying lap and I managed to build enough of a gap to complete my second stop and hold on to second place. With a handful or laps to go in the most physical race this year and a car in your mirrors, time goes amazingly slowly, but for once everything went our way. I think Frank will have to wear his lucky tartan trousers again!"

Singapore GP Qualifying... On a highly technical and physically demanding track, the AT&T Williams team scored a season-first by qualifying both cars in the top ten. Having shown strongly since taking to the new Singapore Marina Bay circuit, Nico Rosberg qualified in P9, with his team-mate Kazuki Nakajima making his first career appearance in the final qualifying session. He will start tomorrow night’s race from tenth place. Nico Rosberg: "I'm generally quite happy as it was quite a good qualifying for me, even though after progressing to Q2, I did hope for a little more than 9th place. Nevertheless, it’s good for the team to have both cars in the top ten and it will help us get into a position to score points. Even though we might not see too much overtaking, whatever happens tomorrow, I think it’s going to be an exciting race – the start through turn one, the battle during the pit-stops and the visual spectacle of all the cars racing through the night is going to be stunning."

iWitness in Singapore (Friday)... When asked by German TV station RTL to send a postcard to someone from Singapore, whom did Nico Rosberg choose? His girlfriend Vivian, who’s currently working New York? His mother? No, he chose to write a message to his German grandmother, Ilse. Top man! In Vivian’s absence, Nico is courting the company of different people this weekend. This morning (afternoon local time…), it was the production crew from Spanish broadcaster TV3. They picked him up from his hotel room in the Ritz Carlton and drove him to the Marina Bay Circuit. Communications weren’t great, though: they spoke to Nico in Spanish and he replied in Italian. English anyone?

Singapore 2008 :

It was in the RedBulletin of Saturday... (27/09/09) Rosberg gets richer

26/09/08 - 18h39 (ITV.com) : Confident Rosberg buoyed by form Nico Rosberg is confident Williams can maintain its strong Friday practice form into the weekend in Singapore after he ended both sessions inside the top six. The German had predicted the new street circuit would play to the strengths of the team’s FW30 and, after setting the sixth and fifth best times in the opening two practices respectively, believes it can enjoy a much-needed strong weekend. “In general I think we can be quite happy with our performance today,” he said. “We have started well and I feel quite confident that we can have a good weekend. “Of course there is some way to go to see how we will shape up with the competition around us.” Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima completed an encouraging first day for the team by setting the ninth fastest time in the later session, albeit it being a lap 0.9s slower than Rosberg’s best. The Japanese rookie survived a brush with a wall in second practice and says he has identified the parts of the track where he needs to find more time on. “In the second session I had a bit of a moment as I made contact with the wall, but fortunately the damage was minor and I could complete the planned programme,” he said. “Looking ahead, I know exactly the places on the track where I need to improve and I will have a good go at this tomorrow.” While both drivers enjoyed the challenges presented by both the 3.15-mile street track and driving under floodlights, they both agreed that the bumpy nature of the surface increased the demands on the drivers. “As far as the track is concerned, it is a lot of fun to drive but it is however incredibly bumpy, so much so you could even get a headache!” said Rosberg. “But, importantly, the track is safe and the visibility under the lights is absolutely fine. “The organisers have done an amazing job and I think everybody will have a great weekend. Nakajima added: “It’s a very tough track, hot and bumpy, probably the bumpiest track surface we encounter all season. “As a consequence, I think it will be a pretty demanding race. “The grip level is not at all bad, maybe a little low at the moment, but by the time we get into qualifying and the race, the track will have rubbered in well.”

Thursday... Friday...

iWitness in Singapore: Thursday Is the pressure of superstardom forcing Nico Rosberg to go undercover? He arrived in the Singapore paddock this afternoon wearing huge black sunglasses and fake sideburns. A word of advice, Nico, from AT&T Williams’ very own undercover agent: take off the team shirt! Or, was Nico simply trying to avoid the attention of Robert Kubica? Our man beat Robert in a high stakes poker game on the Monday after the Italian Grand Prix and rumour has it that the Pole isn’t a happy man… It’s good to see Kazuki Nakajima getting into the spirit of things here. Yesterday he was photographed with Sir Jackie Stewart on a Dragon boat as part of an RBS PR event. While Kazuki used the opportunity to do some exercise in the form of rowing, Sir Jackie banged a drum at the front of the boat. No, JYS is not renowned for his musical ability. Life begins at 40, right? Well, for David Webb, RBS’s head of sponsorship, his life seemed to be coming to an abrupt end on Wednesday night when he took Peter Philips and Liam Clogger on a reverse Bungee as part of his 40th birthday celebrations. As the guys pulled 5g on Singapore’s ‘ejector seat’, Webbo was heard screaming for his mother! Singapore GP Practice (Friday) : The AT&T Williams team joined the chorus of approval for Formula One’s first night racing experience following three hours of floodlight practice on the city centre street circuit in Singapore tonight. Both Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima have found the on-track conditions intensely physical, but it hasn’t prevented the pair from making a solid start to the weekend’s preparations with both cars in the top ten by the close of play. Nico Rosberg : "In general I think we can be quite happy with our performance today. We have started well and I feel quite confident that we can have a good weekend. Of course there is some way to go to see how we will shape up with the competition around us. As far as the track is concerned, it is a lot of fun to drive but it is however incredibly bumpy, so much so you could even get a headache! But, importantly, the track is safe and the visibility under the lights is absolutely fine. The organisers have done an amazing job and I think everybody will have a great weekend."

GPF1 Singapore 2008 : (25/09/08)

Preview Singapore GP (2008)

23/09/08 : Points-hopeful Rosberg to stay on European time As F1 takes a step into the unknown with its first ever night race, WilliamsF1 driver Nico Rosberg sees a strong opportunity to claim points this weekend in Singapore, and will not acclimatise to the local time zone, in order to be on his toes and ready to capitalise on any opportunity. "It should be a good race for us as the track looks like it should suit our car pretty well and personally I always really enjoy racing on street circuits," said Rosberg. "New tracks are often quite demanding and take a bit of time during practice to get used to. Racing at night will add to that challenge, but the whole concept of night racing is fantastic." "It will be a great show for the fans, and an interesting experience for all the teams. Singapore itself is a great new venue for Formula One and for all of our partners as well," he added. "I'm flying out quite late this week and will stay on European time while there. This weekend gives us another opportunity to claim some points which is certainly our aim." Rosberg joins team mate Nakajima and Renault's Fernando Alonso who have come out publicly saying they will stay on European time.

Thank you Saki ! My computer has a problem. I can't see pictures...

Nico's Italian GP Column The Italian Grand Prix was a missed opportunity. Had I changed onto intermediate tyres at my only scheduled pitstop of the race on lap 28, I would probably have beaten Robert Kubica to third place. As it was, I stayed on extreme wets because we thought more rain was coming and when it didn’t materialise I had to make a stop for inters on lap 33. Strategic decisions like this are easy in hindsight, but in the heat of the moment you’re walking on a knife-edge. The weather was very unpredictable and we made the wrong call. It was as simple as that. However, had we known at the time that Rubens Barrichello had changed onto inters as early as lap 16 and immediately gone two seconds a lap faster, we might have thought differently… While 14th was a disappointing result, there are plenty of positives to take from this race. We improved the balance of the FW30 throughout the weekend and were competitive in qualifying. Given my heavy fuel load, I was pleased to be fifth on the grid, but I don’t think I did a better job than at Spa the previous weekend, when I lined up 15th! From here I’m returning to Monaco for a few days before heading to Jerez for the final mid-season test session of the year. The focus of the test will be on next year’s regulations and we’ve got a lot of parts to try, which should be interesting. Then I’m flying straight to Singapore for the next race. I’m looking forward to the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix race for several reasons. Most importantly, I think our car could be quite competitive on the 5.067km (3.149-mile) track because I’m told the layout is similar to Monaco, where I qualified sixth and was competitive in the race until I crashed. I’m also excited by the fact that the race is taking place at night because I think it will bring an added dimension to the weekend. One of the biggest question marks surrounding the race is what time zone to stay in. I’ve decided that I’m going to remain on European time because there’s no point in waking up at 7am if you don’t need to be at your peak until 8pm, when the race starts. As a result, I’ll be going to bed at about 4am every morning, so I hope the nightlife’s good! I’d better ask the guys at RBS where to hang out because they hold a lot of PR events in the city-state. See you out there, Nico

Gala Evening to Celebrate 30 Years of Racing On Thursday 20th November, Old Billingsgate in the City of London will host what promises to be a truly memorable gala evening to celebrate the team’s 30th year in the sport and you could be a part of it. Join this illustrious celebration of the glamour and sporting triumph of one of Britain’s best loved sporting teams together with founders Sir Frank Williams, Patrick Head and the team’s race drivers Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima. A who’s who of motor racing stars will be present including former World Champion and President of the BRDC Damon Hill, all in the company of your host, impressionist and motor racing devotee, Rory Bremner. This prestigious evening to celebrate thirty years of pure racing and 16 FIA Formula One World Championships will start with a champagne reception before a banquet dinner, a charity auction of matchless racing memorabilia and an after dinner concert from the global sensation and award-winning artist, Jamie Callum. The evening will continue after midnight for all guests in the exclusive surroundings of the City’s Eight club. Immerse yourself in an evening to remember in the surroundings of race cars from the last three decades of Williams’ success on the track, as well as the people and personalities that have given this exceptional team its enduring appeal. England rugby stars Lawrence Dallaglio and Joe Worsley and Jay Kay from Jamiroquai are just some of the stars from the sports, music and media industries who will be present. Date: Thursday 20th November 2008, 7pm Carriages: Midnight Venue: Old Billingsgate, 1 Old Billingsgate Walk, London EC3R 6DX Dress: Black Tie Price of Blue Table: £9,500 + VAT per table of 12 (11 Guests + Williams F1 personality). This is your opportunity to have one of our 2008 AT&T Williams drivers Nico Rosberg or Kazuki Nakajima join your table for the entire evening. Or you may like to have our Director of Engineering Patrick Head, Technical Director, Sam Michael or Chief Executive Officer, Adam Parr join you and your guests. Please note these tables are limited and available on a first come, first served basis. Price of White Table: £7,000 + VAT per table of 12, or £599 + VAT per person. Tables located close to stage and include Williams F1 gift. Price of Silver Table: £5,900 + VAT per table of 12, or £499 + VAT per person. Tickets Include: Champagne reception, four course dinner with wine*, memorabilia charity auction and interviews on stage with motorsport personalities past and present, after dinner concert with Jamie Cullum. *unlimited wine, beer and soft drinks throughout the evening at Old Billingsgate. For all bookings please contact Paul Welch at Sportingclass on +44 (0) 208 410 6035 or email [email protected] This is the link :Gala Evening to Celebrate 30 Years of Racing