Ready to go

The BMW WilliamsF1 Team signaled its clear intent for the 2002 FIA
Formula One World Championship with the unveiling of its new car, the
WilliamsF1 BMW FW24, in an act held at Silverstone Circuit in
Northamptonshire on January 25th 2002 (GBR). Presented to the
international media at 1100 hrs, team drivers Ralf Schumacher (GER) and
Juan Pablo Montoya (COL) completed their first laps in the new car, and
gave their assessment of the new chassis and BMW's new P82 powerplant.
Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya will contest the 2002 season with
test drivers Marc Gené (ESP) and Antonio Pizzonia (BRA) playing
an important role in the FW24's development over the course of the
season. In 2002, two years after the alliance between WilliamsF1 and
BMW commenced, the clear intention for the team is to maintain the
partnership's year-on-year momentum in the Championship. "After
four commanding victories, four pole positions and eight lap records in
our second year together, our expectations for the third season are
high," said Team Principal Frank Williams. "We have great
hopes for our new chassis, the FW24, and for the new P82 BMW
engine," he continued. "Beyond that, we've got the strongest
team of drivers. Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya have different
personalities with different driving styles, but their goals are
identical," he concluded. BMW Motorsport Director Gerhard Berger
elaborated, "Such a strong driver line up will be a real catalyst
to push us on. My expectation is that the drivers will enjoy a closely
matched degree of success during the year. Juan will be better on some
circuits, Ralf on others. Both of them have proved they can win Grand
Prix races." Providing from a technical perspective, Dr Mario
Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director reflected, "On circuits where
engine performance was the deciding factor, we were a force to be
reckoned with in 2001. Defending this status while at the same time
improving our reliability are our key objectives for 2002."
Patrick Head, WilliamsF1 Technical Director confirmed, "If you know
in advance that on some circuits you're not going to win on your own
merits, then the car isn't good enough. Further improving the
aerodynamics and reliability were our primary goals when it came to the
FW24." A team led by Gavin Fisher (Chief Designer) designed the
FW24 chassis in Grove, while the engine was designed at the BMW F1
factory in Munich under the guidance of Dr Werner Laurenz (Director of
F1 Development). The FW24 - A High State of Evolution From a design
perspective, Gavin Fisher reflected at Silverstone today that,
"the 2002 season sees few regulation changes, that brings with it
the increased challenge to improve on a car which is already in a
relatively high state of evolution. In many respects, it is more
stimulating for a designer if the canvass is blank when it comes to
starting on the development of the next car. As you progress, the
opportunities for improvement are marginalized, and increasing amounts
of effort must be expended for diminishing returns." The design
team at WilliamsF1 did have to embrace a completely new BMW engine, the
P82, which in turn required the development of a new gearbox, and
associated changes to the remainder of the drivetrain. "The design
work we have done in conjunction with BMW has further optimised the
engine installation. As always, we are striving to minimise weight and
package volume, providing consequential gains in car dynamics and aero
systems efficiency," said Fisher. The Third Generation from Munich
The P82 engine is another new design, based on last year's engine, but
new in every respect. It consists of almost 5,000 individual parts,
around 1,000 of them different. All core components are developed and
manufactured at BMW in Munich - such as the cylinder head, crankcase,
crankshaft, camshaft or electronic engine management. In
January/February of 2001 the design work on the P82 began. The concept
stage was followed by design until June. All parts for the first
engines had been completed by September and the testing of components
had started in August. On September 21st, the P82 had its first
bench-test and on October 3rd, it was taken out for its first test run.
The development objectives read as follows: more power, greater
reliability and less weight in the upper part of the engine to optimise
the centre of gravity. "Our first engine, the E41 of the 2000
season," said Theissen, "was a leap from zero to 90 per cent.
The P80 upped that to 98 per cent. And yet we will never achieve 100
per cent of what is technically possible. The benchmark shifts with
every successful innovation. The crossbar is raised as you jump."
Simultaneous Testing at Barcelona The team's official test drivers, Marc
Gené and Antonio Pizzonia, could not join their colleagues at
Silverstone as they were on duty on the Circuit de Catalunya close to
Barcelona, testing with interim cars. The first FW24 chassis presented
to the press at Silverstone was on route to Spain on that same Friday
evening and will commence its first full testing sessions. Positive
Commercial News with the Signing of FedEx While the BMW WilliamsF1 Team
presentation reflected a high degree of stability in key areas such as
driver line-up, the 2002 FW24 livery did bear the identity of a new
team sponsor, FedEx. The widely recognized FedEx logos appeared on the
front wings of the WilliamsF1 BMW FW24s which will be driven by Ralf
Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, as well as on the helmets and race
suits of the two drivers. Robert W. Elliott, FedEx President Europe,
Middle East & Africa said: "We are absolutely delighted with
the sponsorship. The sport so closely reflects our core values of
speed, reliability, technology and teamwork it is an amazing fit for
us, and it is great to be associated with BMW WilliamsF1 Team, the team
that will be challenging for the World Championship title in 2002."
Team Principal Frank Williams remarked, "We are honored to be able
to add a truly impressive global corporation and Fortune 500 mainstay
corporation to our sponsorship portfolio. For many years we have been
aware of FedEx's presence in F1 and I am delighted that they have
agreed to join the team for the next three years." The signing of
FedEx along with the recent announcement of PepsiCo's 7 UP sponsorship
means that the team enters the 2002 season in a strong commercial
position. High resolution shots as well as the new press pack in
English and in German can be downloaded from: www.press.bmw.com
(register at any time) and from the teams' website at
www.bmw.williamsf1.com A CD-ROM with new pictures and the full press
pack in five languages (English, French, German, Italian and Spanish)
will be available before the start of the season.