Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 23/3/2008
The RBS-supported AT&T Williams team came away from the second round of the FIA Formula One World Championship without any points after a difficult time in the heat and humidity of a Malaysian Grand Prix.
Nico Rosberg was on a one-stop strategy and had the pace to move up the field. However, the young German needed a clean start, so a clash with Timo Glock on the opening lap put paid to any chances of a points finish. Rosberg finished 14th. Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima was 17th.
Rosberg and Nakajima started from 16th and 22nd respectively; a legacy of a tough time in qualifying (Rosberg) and a grid penalty for contact with Robert Kubica (Nakajima) during the season-opening Australian GP.
Nico said: "I knew that starting 16th I would have to take some risks to make the race worthwhile and, considering that I had a heavy one-stop fuel load, I made a decent start. But then I had a coming together with Timo Glock's Toyota. When he left a gap at Turn 14, I went for it and got alongside.
"I guess he didn't see me as he turned into the corner and it was too late for me to back out of the move. It was unfortunate, a racing accident, but I had to pit for a new nose because the front wing was damaged."
Nico also suffered a fuel-system problem, forcing the team to deviate from his planned strategy, hindering him further.
Nakajima, meanwhile, ran a two-stop strategy and was exciting to watch in the opening laps.
"I made up four places on the first lap and was up to 13th place by the time of my first pit stop," he said. "Then, in the second stint, I had a puncture and had to stop early, which was not ideal because it meant I had to run two short stints and a long final one. I was struggling a bit towards the end and spun off in a high-speed corner. After that, I just wanted to concentrate on getting home to get two races on the engine."
Technical director Sam Michael admitted: "This was a race weekend to move on from. I think that we need to learn from all the mistakes we made here this weekend and look ahead to Bahrain and a strong recovery."
After a poor qualifying performance, the team took the decision to split the race strategies of Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima. "We put Nico on a one-stop and Kazuki on a two-stop," explained Sam Michael. "The plan didn't work out because Nico lost his front wing on the first lap and Kazuki had a puncture." Nico's third place from Melbourne means that he heads to Bahrain still sixth in the drivers' championship.
Sepang is traditionally one of the toughest races for drivers and cars. As well as intense heat and humidity, the long corners and abrasive track surface mean tyres are from the harder end of Bridgestone's range. This year, however, a resurfacing of the track meant that the surface was easier on the tyres. "It was the same for everyone," said Sam Michael, "but we didn't get it right. We had problems getting the performance out of the tyre in qualifying."
Robert Kubica, who finished second for BMW Sauber, scored his best ever F1 result, finishing just under 20s behind Malaysian GP race winner Kimi Raikkonen. And while Malaysia usually sets the season's record for ambient and track temperature, this year's race was a little more forgiving. By the measurement of F1 tyre supplier Bridgestone, ambient temperature peaked at 33 centigrade during the race, while the highest recorded track temperature was 44 degrees - both figures that could be exceeded at the next Grand Prix in Bahrain.
