BMW Sauber F1 Team - Australian GP - Race
Weather: dry, overcast, 18-20°C Air, 25-28°C Track
Melbourne (AUS). In a breathtaking Australian Grand Prix,
the BMW Sauber F1 Team not only brought both of its BMW Sauber
F1.06s home to the finish, but scored points with each as
Nick Heidfeld finished fourth, and Jacques Villeneuve sixth.
Nick Heidfeld: 4th
BMW Sauber F1.06-04 /BMW P86
Fastest lap: 1:27.700 s, lap 49 (7th overall)
I am really happy about this result. We were already competitive
in practice but we were even stronger in the race. I think
it’s fantastic for a new team having both cars in the
points, especially considering where Jacques started. My only
problem was that I couldn’t get heat into the tyres
immediately after each safety car period; it was particularly
bad after the last one when Kimi was all over me, and we touched
lightly in Turn 4. I then braked too late for Turn 6 because
the front tyres were still not up to temperature, and as I
ran wide he was able to pass me. So was Ralf, within metres
of yellow flags. My compliments to the pit crew, who did a
fabulous job.
Jacques Villeneuve: 6th
BMW Sauber F1.06-03 /BMW P86
Fastest lap: 1:28.321 s, lap 56 (13th overall)
Starting from 19th place with a full tank and finishing sixth
is obviously a lot better than I expected, so it was a very
good race for me. The only problem I had was warming up the
tyres after the numerous safety car phases. We have to have
a look at this to improve the situation, but otherwise our
pace was good.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
It was a turbulent race with many exciting moments. We are
proud that we were able to bring both cars home in the points
for the first time. Nick ran amongst the front-runners throughout
the race, while our decision proved correct to start Jacques
with a full tank from his 19th place on the grid. Congratulations
to the entire team, not only here at the track but back in
Munich and Hinwil too.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director Chassis):
The race was extremely thrilling. We opted for two different
strategies, with Nick on two stops and Jacques on one because
of his starting position. Both strategies paid off. In Nick’s
case we brought the second stop forward because of the safety
car period and as he thus had a relatively high amount of
fuel still aboard we were able to rejoin the race quicker
and gain positions. Overall we are happy with the performance
of our cars, as well as today’s results and the championship
points we scored.
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