Little accident for Heidfeld at Bahrain

Despite the weather not being as perfect as yesterday, the BMW Sauber F1 Team continued with development work on the F1.09 car. Nick Heidfeld concentrated on the mechanical set- up, trying various specifications of dampers and torsion bars. He also did a couple of practice starts in the morning and at the end of the session.

“Today I drove the new BMW Sauber F1.09 in warm weather conditions for the first time, so the most important thing for me was to learn more about the general balance of the car”, Heidfeld said after completing 104 laps.

“Overall it was a good day because I tried a lot of different set-up solutions. I already feel happy about how the car reacts to changes.” In the morning the car stopped on the track when a standard kill switch accidentally cut off the main electronic control unit and engaged the automatic fire extinguishing system. With some modifications to the switch linkage – and a cleaned up car – Heidfeld resumed testing.

What comes next: Tomorrow Nick Heidfeld will be at the wheel of the BMW Sauber F1.09 again for another day of testing at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit.

Nick Heidfeld Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.09-02 / BMW 86/9 Test kilometres today: 563 (104 laps) Fastest lap: 1:32.585 min