Engine change for Heidfeld

Both BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, had a troublefree second practice session in preparation for the world’s most famous Grand Prix, and they stayed well away from Monte Carlo’s crash barriers. In the first session Heidfeld was forced to park his F1.08 next to the Café de Paris due to an engine failure. For the second session he had a fresh engine, which the regulations allow up to Saturday.

Robert Kubica:
BMW Sauber F1.08-03 / BMW P86/8
1st Practice: 6th, 1:16.834 min / 2nd Practice: 6th, 1:16.296 min
“The two practice sessions were quite ok today. It was a very busy Thursday and we covered a lot of laps. We now have to see how we can improve the car for Saturday.”

Nick Heidfeld:
BMW Sauber F1.08-05 / BMW P86/8
1st Practice: 14th, 1:18.263 min / 2nd Practice: 11th, 1:16.426 min
“In the first session I realized the engine was losing power, so then looked to find a good spot to stop. Of course the failure cost us running time and data, but we still managed to make several changes to the car for the second session. It was a general improvement. Taking into account it is Monaco, I would say my car is very driveable.”

Willy Rampf, Technical Director: ”We were not able to complete our normal programme. This was because there were some interruptions during the sessions. Beside that we had to change the engine on Nick’s car after the first session. We repeated some of the things we did at our latest test in Paul Ricard, because the track characteristics here in Monaco are very special. Because of this we used the wheel covers at the front. Now we have more than a day to evaluate the data, before we concentrate on the qualifying set-up for Saturday.”