Williams: Imola win is 'vital'
Williams chief operations engineer Sam Michael has told AUTOSPORT magazine that the team has to have an edge over Ferrari at this weekend's San Marino GP if it is to stand any chance of wresting the world championship away from the Italian team
"It is vital that we are competitive in Imola," insisted Michael. "Over the next three or four races there are tracks where we might not be as competitive against Ferrari and, if they start winning those, then you can see the championship slipping away. It's going to be very difficult but we know what we have to do."
Williams was expected to win in Brazil, but instead victory went to Michael Schumacher and the Ferrari F2002. The performance of the new car at a track where BMW's superior horsepower and Michelin tyres gave Williams a theoretical advantage came as a surprise and Gerhard Berger, BMW's motorsport boss and ex-Ferrari driver, thinks the Scuderia will be tough to beat on Sunday.
"Imola will be much more of a Ferrari circuit than Brazil," said Berger, "but we are going to do some modifications and hopefully have a situation like in Interlagos. The eight points [by which Michael Schumacher leads the title chase] is nothing to worry about, but what we should worry about is that Ferrari is very, very strong."
The full story appears in this week's AUTOSPORT magazine, which goes on sale on Thursday.
Free practice for the San Marino GP starts at 10am on Friday. Log on to Autosport.com for the latest news from every session.
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