We can be proud of what we achieved - Theissen

Mario Theissen looks back on the Chinese Grand Prix where Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica both succeeded in scoring World Championship points. Furthermore, the BMW Motorport Director takes positive stock from the 2008 season even though the final round has not yet been contested.

Mario Theissen: "Following a disappointing qualifying session, finishing fifth and sixth in the Chinese Grand Prix represented something of a compensating conclusion to the weekend for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. In the race, held on Sunday at Shanghai, Nick and Robert paved the way for these results right from the start, both delivering good and flawless race performances. The strategy was fine, all the pit stops were carried out perfectly and we didn't encounter any technical problems. Prior to the season finale in Brazil, our chances of securing one of the two World Championship titles are over and that is certainly a pity. Nonetheless, our assessment of the season is completely positive.

"The season finale at Sao Paulo has not yet been contested but we don't have to wait until the season is over to say that we can be truly proud of what we have achieved in 2008, with our BMW Sauber F1 Team. We wanted to turn the duel at the front end of the grid into a three-way battle and we succeeded in doing so. We established ourselves as one of Formula One's top teams right from the beginning of the season. During the difficult off-season tests, following the BMW Sauber F1.08 launch in Valencia, nobody would have believed that we would ultimately be title contenders in both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships, right up to the penultimate round of the season.

"Furthermore, we wanted to secure our maiden Grand Prix win in 2008 - and realised this goal too. And the fact that we did so by celebrating a one-two in Montreal, represented the icing on the cake. We have secured a total of eleven podium finishes - nine more than in 2007. This fact alone demonstrates the big step we have made. And who knows why we cannot add another one to make it a dozen in Brazil?

"Meanwhile, we also secured seven runner-up finishes, in Malaysia Nick set our first fastest race lap and in Bahrain, Robert gave us our maiden pole position. Furthermore, we have scored points in each of the last 34 races - a feat no other team has realised. The 2006 season finale in Brazil was the last race we had to leave empty-handed. However, all this didn't come by chance.

"Our key advantages in the 2008 season are our perfect reliability, a usually excellent race strategy, perfect work during the pit stops and a very low error rate from our drivers. We still have to make a step forward, performance-wise, compared to Ferrari and McLaren, and admittedly, in the second half of the season we didn't make the progress we had hoped for. Some of our development projects didn't result in the performance gains we expected, however, I am convinced that we have drawn the right conclusions for 2009. After all, next year, we want to become a factor in the battle for the title."