New challenge for Heidfeld and Kubica with modified F1.09
In the heat of the tropical night the first two free practice sessions for the Singapore Grand Prix took place. The BMW Sauber F1 Team is competing with the biggest development package of the season for the F1.09.
The mechanics on both cars had a busy day when they had to change the gearbox on Nick Heidfeld’s car during the first session and a failing gearbox sensor on Robert Kubica’s car at the beginning of the second session.
Nick Heidfeld:
BMW Sauber F1.09-07 / BMW P86/9
1st Free Practice: 14th, 1:51.656 min / 2nd Free Practice: 4th, 1:49.098 min
“I really enjoy the track, it is great fun driving here, although it is still bumpy and was extremely dusty. I think our performance doesn’t look too bad, although we had several types of problems in the first session. Besides having to change the gearbox, there was also trouble with the floor and tyre pressures. But for the second session we got several things right. I did my fastest lap quite early on new tyres, and was leading for a long time until some of the other drivers did their runs on new tyres towards the end of the session.”
Robert Kubica:
BMW Sauber F1.09-08 / BMW P86/9
1st Free Practice: 8th, 1:50.815 min / 2nd Free Practice: 10th, 1:49.609 min
“The track today was very dirty and the grip was poor. There was a lot of dust off the racing line especially at the start of the day, but it was also the same in the second session. The track surface is better than last year but it is still quite bumpy. We had a small problem in the beginning of the second session with a gearbox sensor, but it was fixed quickly and we were able to finish our programme.”
Willy Rampf, Head of Engineering: “We brought a comprehensive development programme for the F1.09 to Singapore. From an aerodynamics point of view, this comprises a new front wing, more deeply undercut sidepods, a further developed double diffuser and a modified rear wing. Added to which, the F1.09 also has a totally new and more compact gearbox. For the drivers it is, of course, a challenge to get used to the heavily modified car. We gained important indications, but are not where we want to be. There is still a lot of work ahead of us. However, this is not unusual if you bring such a large modified package.”
