Nico's Bahrain GP Column
I have mixed feelings after the Bahrain Grand Prix. On the one hand, it was good to finish eighth and come away with another World Championship point, but I can't help feeling a bit disappointed because we could have achieved more.

If my race had gone according to plan, I would have troubled Jarno Trulli for sixth place, which would have been a good result. My long-run pace was similar to Jarno's throughout the weekend, but my chances of beating him were ruined when Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso collided immediately behind me on lap two. Their shunt allowed Mark Webber - who was on a free fuel strategy, having qualified 11th - to sneak into the points and then passed me due to his strategic advantage.

The performance of my FW30 was also compromised during the race by a strong wind on the back straight. We set the gear ratios for the weekend during Friday practice, when there was less of a wind, and I found myself hitting the rev-limiter early whenever I was in the slipstream of another car.

Despite all these niggling problems, it was a relief for everyone at AT&T Williams to be back inside the top 10 in qualifying after the disappointment of the Malaysian Grand Prix two weeks ago. The improvement was mainly down to the tyres because we experienced none of the grip problems in Bahrain that we suffered at Sepang. I was the only driver in the top half of the grid to start the race on the prime tyre, but I was able to run at a similar pace to the cars on the softer option rubber during the opening stint.

Away from the racetrack, I enjoyed my time in Bahrain. I've always enjoyed going there, since I won the GP2 Championship at the Bahrain International Circuit in 2005, and this year was no different. My father was there too and we stayed in the Ritz Carlton, which is a beautiful hotel and is a really relaxing environment. The majority of the other F1 drivers stay there too.

I got to meet some interesting people over the race weekend too. Eric Clapton waved the chequered flag at the end of the race, but he watched qualifying from the AT&T Williams pit garage, which was pretty cool. Then I saw loads of people on the grid, such as Macy Gray, Frankie Dettori and Rory Bremner.

We now have a three-week gap in the calendar. This week I'm going to do lots of training at home in Monaco, then I'll head to Barcelona next week for a four-day test session of which I’m driving two days. We have various mechanical and aerodynamic upgrades to try, all of which we hope will give us more performance.

We will give those new parts a baptism of fire in the Spanish Grand Prix the following weekend. Let's hope we can score more points in the race.

See you in Spain,

Nico

Meet the Team: Rod Nelson
PERSONAL
Age 46
Star sign Virgo

Start date at Williams F1 1st March 2007

Why AT&T Williams? I’ve liked them from afar for a long time, and this job was an expansion of the previous job I had with another team. This team has got the right philosophy; they're racers.

Are you aware of AT&T Williams' history? Very much so, and it's a real honour to work for them. I came for an interview with Peter Collins about 25 years ago, when the team was based in Didcot. I wanted a summer job while I was at university.

Previous jobs in F1 R&D engineer at Arrows in 1990 & '91, then I was at Simtek from '92 to '95 as a race engineer. When Simtek went bust, I returned to Arrows before moving to Renault, where I was a race engineer.

Hobbies I love playing golf and I play the saxophone, albeit not as often as I should. I also enjoy looking after my young daughter, Ines, and I'm particularly proud that I climbed the UK's Three Peaks - Ben Nevis, Scarfell Pike and Snowdon - at the age of 40!

PROFESSIONAL
Describe your job at Williams F1 There are two bits to it. The obvious one is on the pitwall, where I’m responsible for the technical aspects of running the cars at tests and races, and then I'm also responsible for our vehicle dynamics department, which gives us the tools to run the car.

Do you enjoy the races? They are certainly the most enjoyable aspect of the job because they are the most intense part of what I do. Qualifying is different because it has its ups and downs, in which you're just trying to maximise what you've got.

Did AT&T Williams maximise what they had 2007? There are three or four instances where, if I had my time again, I would have done something differently. But, overall, I think it was an improvement on where we were in '06. Reliability was the biggest step forward and we also got more out of the car than we had. You never get 100 percent of the performance from the car; but you might get 97 percent and we were achieving that more in '07 than in the previous year.

How much influence have you had in the design of FW30? Operationally, I looked at serviceability and ways to make the car easier to change and to set-up for the mechanics. Taking a step back from that, I also looked at the whole performance package, pin-pointing the problems that we had with last year's car. To do that, I went straight to the relevant department within the team.

What results would please you in 08? If we finish third in the Constructors’ Championship, that would be a fantastic result. Even finishing fourth would be a big achievement.

Kazuki's Blog - Thursday in Bahrain
What is it about my trainer Nick Harris and coats? When he sent me into the heat and humidity of Malaysia wearing two coats a fortnight ago, I thought I’d seen it all. I was wrong.

We flew to Dubai last Sunday to get away from the rain and cold of England, and Nick immediately sent me out into the 30-degree heat to play tennis wearing a couple more coats. I sweated buckets, as you’d expect, and I felt very sorry for the laundry staff in my hotel!

The cockpit of my FW30 will feel cool by comparison. Can’t wait!

Thursday iWitness in Bahrain
Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, team-mates for a couple of seasons in karting, were reunited today. They swapped stories for German TV station RTL, discussing who was quicker – Nico, natch… – their favourite holidays and haircuts. “Let me introduce you to my friend with the Afro haircut,” began Nico. Brotherly love, eh?

Lewis definitely had the better suntan of the two, having spent the 10-day break since the Malaysian Grand Prix on the island of Ko Samui in Thailand. Nico returned home to Monaco after Sepang and the Principality wasn’t basking in its 300 days a year of sunshine.

The tartan terrors are back with AT&T Williams this weekend. Sir Fred Goodwin, chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Sir Jackie Stewart and Peter Philips are all wearing the RBS tartan troos - in a team owned by two Englishmen.

Is there a conference for retired AT&T Williams drivers in Bahrain? Jacques Villeneuve, Riccardo Patrese, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Martin Brundle are all wandering the paddock, either driving in the SPEEDCAR support race or working for television. Please drop by for a good old English cuppa, guys.

Bahrain GP Weather
Philips Shavers, Official Partner of the AT&T Williams team, welcomes you to Sakhir for the third round of the 2008 FIA Formula One season. To help you prepare for what is predominantly an outdoor sport, we've put together a detailed weather forecast with the help of the local metrological office. We hope it will help you choose the right clothing over the race weekend and assist the team with their tyre choice for the race.

Friday
Sunny
35°C
Wind from the West Northwest at 14 mph
29% humidity
Suggested Tyre: Dry

Saturday
Sunny
32°C
Wind from the North Northwest at 32 mph
33% humidity
Suggested Tyre: Dry

Sunday
Sunny
33°C
Wind from the North at 19 mph
32% humidity
Suggested Tyre: Dry

For more information on how the weather will affect the team's tyre strategy over a Grand Prix weekend visit www.philips.com/attwilliams, click on Grand Prix and select a race.

Philips Shavers - Get closer no matter what the conditions.