Steering problems for Kubica as Heidfeld suffers back pain

Robert Kubica was back in his car again for the BMW Sauber F1 Team in the first free practice sessions of the French Grand Prix, and was ninth and 12th respectively. Nick Heidfeld was seventh in the morning, but stopped early in the afternoon as he did not want to aggravate his back following a recurrence of the pain that had bothered him at the Silverstone test last week.

Robert Kubica:
BMW Sauber F1.07-03/BMW P86/7 1st Practice: 9th, 1.16.441 min
2nd Practice: 12th, 1.16.236 min “After starting the day with some steering problems, which meant missing the first hour of running, everything went smoothly this afternoon. We have nearly completed our programme with quite a lot of set-up work. I am happy to be back in the car, we have to work for tomorrow, but generally the car’s balance is not too bad. ”

Nick Heidfeld: BMW Sauber F1.07-05/BMW P86/7 1st Practice: 7th, 1.16.338 min
2nd Practice: 19th, 1.16.968 min “The practice sessions have been okay so far and, anyway, I like driving on this circuit. I stopped early because I wanted to save my back. Last week at the Silverstone test I had some problems. I can still feel it and as a precaution I want to have it checked today.”

Willy Rampf, Technical Director “Unfortunately we couldn’t complete our programme in its entirety, neither in the first nor in the second session. Today we have been focussing on the race preparation, did the tyre comparison and tried different aerodynamic settings. We will use the third practice session to prepare for qualifying.”

In Magny-Cours BMW uses the rear wing to promote rear wheel drive - the traditional driving concept of the make. The address www.rear-wheel-drive.com offers information about the concept's driving characteristics and advantages. At the Spanish Grand Prix the BMW Sauber F1 Team was running with the message “active steering“ on the rear wing.