Tuesday June 13th, 2000

Heinz-Harald Frentzen became today the first Formula One driver to tour the new 4.2-km road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway scheduled to host the upcoming US Grand Prix. The German proclaimed the circuit to be "the fastest track we've ever raced on."

Frentzen came to Indianapolis before this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix. He accompanied Speedway President Tony George around the 13-turn track in a passenger car. Later Frentzen participated in a news conference with nearly 50 Formula One media representatives from around the world invited for a look at the Speedway facility.

"The challenge here for a Formula One driver is basically finding the right setup for qualifying," said Frentzen. "I think for us Formula One drivers, it's not difficult to adapt to a new racetrack. I think generally it would take us the first session on Friday morning to get to know the track like the other ones. We need to do most of the homework mostly on Friday evening, preparing the car for qualifying."

Frentzen added he and his colleagues are facing a type of racetrack they've never encountered before, seeing as part of the circuit includes Turn 1 and the main straightaway of the oval that the Indianapolis 500 is conducted on. The wall along the outside of this section is new to the overseas participants.

"The fact we're running half of an oval track makes this situation completely different for us," he said. "It is a racetrack that you can divide in two parts. The infield, which is sophisticated. It's like a proper Formula One racetrack. They have the other side of the racetrack, which is half of the oval. That means we'll be able to reach incredible high top speeds, if we want to.

"The challenge here will be finding a common right compromise of being fast on the straight and being fast enough as well in the infield. But I think it is going to be a high-speed track for us."

Frentzen predicts speeds of greater than 320 km/h as they race clockwise and north up the main straightaway. The top speed the cars will attain depends on the amount of downforce built into them, Frentzen said.

"We like the challenge very much, and we like the opportunity to race in Indianapolis for such a traditional racetrack," he said. "The way people react here, the atmosphere is pretty good here."

Frentzen said the Indianapolis circuit includes places to pass, particularly at the end of each long straight. Also, he noted teams can run high-downforce or low-downforce setups or full or lower fuels levels depending on whether they want to make one or two pit stops. This will have a bearing on passing potential, he said.

"There could be overtaking out of Turn 1, up to 2, and at 3 there are some overtaking possibilities," he said. "I think the racetrack will give us some opportunities there."

Frentzen said he did not calculate the number of gearshifts necessary during his drive-around but added it will be quickly figured out during a computer simulation run.

"It's very different from the racetracks in Formula One that I've seen before," he added. "I've never raced on oval so it's a different world. But I find it a perfect compromise racing on ovals combined with the Formula One standards as well."