BMW Sauber F1 Team - Canadian GP - Race
Weather: sunny and dry, 29-31°C air, 47-49°C track
Montreal (CAN). With Nick Heidfeld finishing seventh in the
Canadian Grand Prix, the BMW Sauber F1 Team collected two
more championship points. Jacques Villeneuve in 8th was on
course for one point, but then with 10 laps to go at his home
race he slid into the wall.
Nick Heidfeld: 7th
BMW Sauber F1.06-04/BMW P86
Fastest Lap: 1:17.454 min on lap 52 (7th fastest overall)
The start was very good again. Unfortunately in the first
corner I got stuck in traffic and had to get off the throttle,
but in the second corner I was able to overtake two cars.
I was then stuck in traffic behind Felipe Massa and Jacques
and there was a lot of rubber and dirt off the racing line,
which caused problems for a lot of drivers. The second pit
stop worked very well and the out lap was good, so I gained
a position. At the end of the race I was faster than Jarno
Trulli, but after the Safety Car period I had a problem getting
the tyres up to temperature again. I think after a disappointing
qualifying our race performance was good.
Jacques Villeneuve: Retired lap 59
BMW Sauber F1.06-08/BMW P86
Fastest Lap: 1:17.394 min on lap 29 (6th fastest overall)
Ralf Schumacher was running very slowly for quite a few laps
and I think he had a problem with his car. When he decided
to let me by it was through a corner. He lifted and just to
avoid him I had to go wide where there was old rubber from
the tyres - it was like being on an ice rink. We were competitive
all day, we fought hard but had a problem in the pitstop,
which meant Nick jumped us. This was very a shame as we had
been ahead of him the whole race, and then lapping Ralf was
very frustrating. This is always a tough race and sometimes
it doesn’t work out.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
From 11th and 13th on the grid both our drivers made their
way into the points during the race. Both cars ran trouble-free,
and we had the right strategy. It was a pity Jacques went
off towards the end and lost a well deserved point. But we
will be able to draw a positive conclusion from this. We finished
in the points again and we maintained fifth in the constructors’
championship.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director Chassis):
Being seventh and ninth at the end of the first lap from 11th
and 13th on the grid confirmed the good starting performance
of both our cars and drivers. Our strategy was to stay out
as long as possible and we were able to match the speed of
the rest of the group we were racing with. Felipe Massa was
in front of us on a one stop strategy, and due to this we
lost time to Jarno Trulli. Nick drove a good race and finished
seventh. Jacques became a victim of the track conditions.
But we strengthened our fifth in the championship.
In Canada the BMW Sauber F1 Team Pit Lane Park, in the centre
of Montreal, attracted 41,000 visitiors, which is a new record.
Its next races will in Monza and Shanghai.
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