BMW pleased with qualifying result
In Spain, at the European curtain raiser of the Formula 1 season, the BMW Sauber F1 Team has again a car on the third row of the grid. Robert Kubica was fifth and Nick Heidfeld qualified seventh on tomorrow's grid.
Robert Kubica: BMW Sauber F1.07-07/BMW P86/7 Qualifying: 5th, 1.22.253 min (3rd Practice: 3rd, 1.21.364min) “I am happy after that as I think the position is good considering I struggled with the balance of my car. This morning it was looking better, but then this afternoon I picked up oversteer. I hope tomorrow the condition of the track will be better with more rubber down, which should help me with my oversteer. I am now looking forward to a good race tomorrow with no problems. We are third in the championship and today we were the third strongest team.”
Nick Heidfeld: BMW Sauber F1.07-05/BMW P86/7 Qualifying: 7th, 1.22.389 min (3rd Practice: 4th, 1.21.464 min) “I am happy so far as my last lap was pretty good. The balance of my car was alright, and after yesterday’s free practice we only did very minor changes. After only one run in Q2 we were already safe for the top ten, which means I have again saved a set of fresh tyres for the race. Normally my starts are quite good and luckily my grid position is on the clean side of the track.”
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director “All in all we are satisfied with qualifying. We demonstrated after the four week break we are still the third best team on the grid. I am happy Robert was quick in the third part of qualifying and so was fifth, while Nick only missed the third row by a very small margin. For our drivers it is a good position for the race because both are on the clean side of the grid.”
Willy Rampf, Technical Director “I’m pleased with the qualifying result. Obviously it would have been nice to have our drivers fifth and sixth, but they are both on the clean side of the track and have the chance to gain position at the start. In addition, I'm confident we have the right strategy for the race. So far, we’ve had a trouble-free weekend, so I'm really optimistic for tomorrow."
