Fuji Speedway, Japan – 12/10/2008
The RBS-backed AT&T Williams team endured a difficult weekend in Japan for round 16 of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, with Kazuki Nakajima and Nico Rosberg finishing 11th and 15th respectively.
The race was won by Renault's Fernando Alonso, but title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa collided in a dramatic race.
Massa recovered to take seventh and cut Hamilton's lead to five points with two races left. Hamilton, whose car was damaged by the Ferrari driver, finished 12th and out of the points.
It was former world champion Alonso's second successive win. BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica claimed second place, with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen third.
Although both Williams drivers survived the incident-filled race unscathed, the result was not exactly what either driver had been hoping for. Nico suspected that his result in Fuji was due to set up problems with his Williams FW30.
"From the start of the weekend I had a lack of grip at the rear," he said, "and I wasn't helped by a technical problem at the start, which meant that I fell to the back. I also did the longest first stint of anyone on a one-stop strategy – 42 laps – and so I had to struggle with a heavy car too. I gave everything I could but that was not enough to score points."
Kazuki, meanwhile, had to contend with the disappointment of a first-lap accident in his first F1 start on home soil.
"I had a poor start, like Nico," he said, "then came an accident amid the confusion of an incident-packed opening lap. That meant an unscheduled pit stop for a new nose which made a difficult task even harder. I did everything I could but I was never in contention after that."
Williams technical director Sam Michael had sympathy for Kazuki after his first-lap accident in front of his home fans, admitting that it was uncharacteristic. "He's a very calm character, doesn't get flustered very easily and I think that can be his strength as he gets more experienced," said Sam. "He came into this season wanting to make sure he didn't develop a reputation as a crasher and I think he's done well at that. Normally he's a survivor."
With the paddock beginning to look ahead to 2009, when Formula One introduces radical regulation changes, Williams is expecting to begin testing the new FW31 relatively late, towards the end of January. The aerodynamic changes are viewed as the most crucial to success in 2009 and, initially at least, the team expects to test without the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) which will be a feature of the 2009 cars. KERS is viewed as a major project that will take a little longer.
Although Fuji ended in disappointment for Kazuki Nakajima, it was the second time in his rookie season that he managed to out-qualify team mate Nico Rosberg on merit. "He's getting faster and closer to Nico, who is a good benchmark for him," said Sam Michael. "He's been very close to Nico on maybe three occasions in qualifying – within half a tenth of him in the low fuel session. He's actually out-qualified him four times, but on merit in Barcelona and here. At Silverstone, Nico had a rear suspension problem and at Magny Cours a grid penalty."
