The strong showing of Williams cars during the tests were for me the highlight of the F1 winter. And then they revealed the classy livery Williams style … I am becoming Williams fan . Let’s look at their drivers Rosberg and Nakajima, both of them sons of former Formula 1 drivers (Keke Rosberg and Satoru Nakajima):

Nico Rosberg - Germany
Born: 27 Jun 1985
In F1 since 2006 - Williams (testing with Williams since 2003)
Best Result: 9th in 2007
Career wins: 0
Pole positions: 0
Podium Finishes: 0
Fastest Laps: 1 (on his race debut)

Nico Rosberg started his F1 career with impressive fastest lap and 2 points on his race debut in 2006. He only went on to score 2 more for the rest of the season, season that was one of the worst ever for the Williams team. Last year was very different. Impressive in qualifying, regular in Q3, string of point finishes. And all in a car that probably should not be that high. No wonder he became the prime target for McLaren as replacement for Fernando Alonso. He however decided to stick with Williams for next 2 years. With what looks like a decent car in hand he can realisticaly think about few podiums this year. One of the things I am really looking forward to in 2008 is seeing Rosberg and Alonso in pretty much equal cars fighting it out on the track …

Kazuki Nakajima - Japan
Born: 11 January 1985
In F1 since 2007 - Williams - 1 race only Brazilian GP
Best Result: 10th place in his only race so far
Career wins: 0
Pole positions: 0
Podium Finishes: 0

Kazuki Nakajima jumped into the Williams F1 race seat after Alex Wurz decided to retire with one race to go last year. The team probably knew about this earlier. Perhaps because of that they placed Nakajima in one of Williams cars for the the free practice in China already (check my Shanghai 2007 photo gallery). Nakajima did pretty well on his race debut in Brazil. After qualifying on P17 only he climbed up the grid and finished the race 10th. Unfortunatelly for him, most people will remember his first F1 race for the famous pitlane incident (see the video below the post). He definitely has something in common with Sato . The fact that Williams selected him as race driver for 2008 season took many by surprise. The Toyota connection is thought to be the main reason and Williams are not exactly denying that. His winter form however shows that he is not that much slower than Rosberg. Whether he can keep his cool during the race that is another question.

F1Wolf’s prediction for Williams drivers in 2008:
No. 1 - Nico Rosberg, natural leader of the team with a chance of a podium finish
No. 2 - Kazuki Nakajima - will eventually emerge as number 2 driver, but he will give Rosberg run for his money. If he keeps cool head and has a bit of luck, who knows, we may see him on the podium. Alex Wurz made it last year in less competitive car …

2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - Ferrari
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - McLaren
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - BMW Sauber
2008 F1 Season Team Mates - Renault

Check the rest of this post for Nakajima’s pit lane incident video

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

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Not that long ago Fernando Alonso spoke about one team that have impressed him during the winter testing season - BMW Sauber.

“They are very fast with a lot of fuel. Sometimes you look at their times, and you see what they’ve done in stints of 25 or 30 laps. That is, with 60 or 70 kilos of fuel. They have surprised me the most in the last two or three tests.”

At the time when Alonso came out with this observation I haven’t heard anyone else, and that includes BMW Sauber people, to speak so highly about the BMW Sauber team.

Keke Rosberg (Nico Rosberg’s father and 1982 F1 World Champion) recently spoke with Sport Bild about BMW Sauber form ahead of 2008 season.

“We need to see what the true picture is. BMW have said very clearly that they want not just one but several wins. This is a very high goal. The jump into the class of the two top teams is enormous, complicated and expensive, and the question is whether BMW have made it.”

And here comes the interesting part:

“I know Alonso has spoken very highly of them, so either he wants a contract or, as a driver, he knows more than we do.”

Well, there is an escape clause in Alonso’s contract with Renault … Just kidding now , but let’s talk 8 months from now.

F1Wolf

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