Monza proved to be a good race venue for us - Theissen

In the Italian Grand Prix, the BMW Sauber F1 Team added another ten World Championship points to its tally. BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen talks about the successful conclusion to Formula One's European season and congratulates the Munich and Hinwil based squad's former test and reserve driver, Sebastian Vettel, on his sensational triumph at Monza.

Mario Theissen: "As expected, the Italian Grand Prix turned out to be a truly turbulent race - for everybody apart from the race winner. Toro Rosso had the best car for the difficult conditions encountered at Monza and with a superior performance, Sebastian Vettel made perfect use of this car to secure the maiden win for his team and himself. An achievement you have to take your hat off to. I'd also like to congratulate Gerhard Berger and Franz Tost, two men we have successfully cooperated with for many years. In a short period of time they have created something really remarkable.

"Meanwhile, the race at the Royal Park also ran perfectly for us, with our race strategy proving to be crucial. We were able to pit really late with both our cars and therefore, Robert and Nick were able to switch to intermediates during their only pit stops. Both our drivers pitted at the perfect point in time, consequently, they succeeded in securing good results despite their unfavourable positions on the grid. In the difficult conditions, Robert and Nick both delivered flawless performances. By finishing third, Robert secured the tenth podium finish for our team, representing his sixth podium of the current season, with Nick taking fifth. At the end of the day, in the final European round of the season, the team added another ten points to its tally. Monza once again proved to be a good race venue for us.

"With the Italian GP contested, Formula One won't return to Europe before 2009. The final four rounds of the season will be held in Asia and South America - the perfect time to take an interim stock: we are truly happy with the performances delivered by our BMW Sauber F1 Team to date. We realised our ambitious goals. We wanted to turn the duel at the front end of the field into a battle involving three teams - and have successfully established ourselves as one of the three top teams right from the beginning of the season. Furthermore, we wanted to secure our maiden win in 2008. Obviously, it was particularly nice that we did so by celebrating a one-two in Canada.

"With 14 of the 18 rounds of the 2008 season contested, we have ten podium finishes under our belt - representing a progress compared to the two we achieved in the whole 2007 season. With four more races to go we have scored a total of 117 points, 16 more than after last year's final round. In addition, we have displayed extraordinary reliability throughout the season and scored points in every single round. All this represents a good basis for the future.

"At the end of the season we will announce our driver pairing for the coming year. There has been a lot of speculation regarding this issue in recent weeks, and at Monza new rumours were circulating in the paddock. Nonetheless, we won't take part in these speculations but will simply take our time in making our decision."