We succeeded in making the next step - Theissen

The first pole position for the BMW Sauber F1 Team, third and fourth places for Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld - as well as the lead in the Constructors' Championship: for the Munich and Hinwil based squad, the Bahrain GP represented another performance leap. BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen looks back on the third race weekend of the year:

"What a weekend in the desert of Bahrain! The Saturday of the Bahrain GP weekend at Sakhir will go down as a very special day in the history of our still young BMW Sauber F1 Team. In our 38th Grand Prix, Robert secured our maiden pole position. That's fantastic - for Robert as well as for everybody else involved in this project. With this achievement, we have succeeded in making the next step on the ladder. And that's something all of us may be proud of.

"The following day, we once again had something with which to be delighted: by finishing third, Robert gave us our third successive podium finish of the season, and with Nick securing fourth place, our drivers have added another eleven points to our tally, thereby giving us the lead in the Constructors' Championship. This lead represents a major surprise for us and we only realised after the race that we really were the new championship leaders. However, it's just a 'snap-shot', nothing else. At the same time however, it's a fact that we are no longer the third power on the grid, but have established ourselves as one of the three top teams.

"Apart from the race result, there was another positive factor to the weekend in Bahrain: the gap to the Ferraris was gratifyingly small. Altogether, our team's start to the season was an optimal one. The performances delivered will represent a major boost for everybody in the coming weeks. Our car has even more potential and we will continue advancing accurately, step by step. In the eight weeks following the roll-out in mid-January, we have learned more than we usually do in an entire season. This has turned out to be extremely helpful for us.

"From now on, we will fully focus on the kick-off of the European season, at Barcelona on 27th April. There, every team will make a development step. therefore, the Spanish race will represent a new definition of the balance of power on the Formula One grid."