Mixed emotions after 4th place Kubica and retirement Heidfeld
The Spanish Grand Prix was the fourth race of the season and for the fourth time the BMW Sauber F1 Team had a car finish fourth. This time it was Robert Kubica who contributed the five championship points to the team’s tally. After 46 laps Nick Heidfeld had to park his BMW Sauber F1.07 in the garage with a suspected gearbox problem.
Robert Kubica: 4th BMW Sauber F1.07-07/BMW P86/7 Fastest Lap: 1.23.129 min on lap 20 (5th fastest overall) “I am very satisfied because this is my first race this season without any problems, and you can see the result. Today everything came together for me. I could fight for top places, and that is what I did today. I had quite a good, consistent race, although I had some problems with tyre degradation in the second stint when I was behind Alonso and Coulthard was closing the gap, but everything was under control. In the end, after the second pit stop, I tried to push and make the gap to Coulthard bigger. Now we have to continue working in this direction.”
Nick Heidfeld: DNF BMW Sauber F1.07-05/BMW P86/7 Fastest Lap: 1.23.483 min on lap 22 (7th fastest overall) “In the end it was most likely a gearbox problem that stopped me, but unfortunately my race was over much earlier after the problem during my first pit stop. For some reason the front right wheel was loose, we have to look at it how this happened. For the first 24 laps until this stop it looked superb for me. I drove a long first stint and my second stint would also have been a long one. On top of this Alonso was not very quick on the harder tyres in his second stint. I believe I had the chance to finish on the podium today.”
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director “We view the result with mixed emotions. Eight cars retiring was a lot today, and sadly we were among them – most likely it was a gearbox failure. But as disappointing as this is for us and for Nick, it was a positive result for Robert. He scored our fourth fourth place today, drove a very good race and our team is now established as the third strongest. At the end of the day the result is pleasing. “
Willy Rampf, Technical Director “After a race like this I have mixed feelings. Robert drove a strong race and deserved fourth place. Nick was also in a good position before his pit stop. We then had a problem fitting the front right wheel nut, had to bring Nick in one lap later and, as a result, his race was ruined. After 46 laps a technical failure forced him to retire. However, on the positive side we are pleased with five more championship points.“
