BMW Sauber F1 Team - European GP - Qualifying
Weather: sunny and dry, 21°C air, 37-39°C track
Nürburg (DEU). Jacques Villeneuve has qualified for
the fourth row of the grid for the European Grand Prix. However,
Nick Heidfeld was not able to get into the top ten qualifying
session at the Nürburgring so could only set the 15th
best time.
Jacques Villeneuve:
Qualifying: 8th, 1:31.542 min (3rd practice 4th, 1:31.531
min)
The plan today was to get in the top ten, but we were hoping
to be slightly better than p8. We concentrated on our qualifying
set-up for a change, which enabled us to start further up
the grid. I think we can get in the points, but will have
to see how our set-up lives in the race. Giancarlo Fisichella
seemed to be really angry and I am not exactly sure what happened.
I thought I was ahead of him and I was trying to get out of
his way, maybe I slowed him down a little bit but I never
thought he was that close to me. I will go and talk to him
because it was not done on purpose.
Nick Heidfeld:
Qualifying: 15th, 1:31.422 min (3rd practice 15th, 1:32.773
min)
Of course I'm unhappy with my lap time and my position. The
car was not bad, although in the second half of the lap I
had some understeer and the overall grip was not ideal. I
don't know why I didn’t manage to record a better lap
time as we definitely didn’t have the difficulties today
we had here on Friday or in Imola.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
This qualifying was again a thriller, although the time differences
were not as close as in Imola two weeks ago. Jacques was quick
in all three parts of qualifying and was able to secure a
very good eighth position. Nick didn’t do well in the
second part of qualifying and lost time through the whole
lap, therefore, missing the top ten. However, for him this
means we can adjust the race strategy. Technically both cars
ran problem free.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director Chassis):
Overall we are happy with our performance today. Jacques did
a good job and, considering how tight the competition currently
is, it is already a success to make it into the top ten for
qualifying. Starting from eighth place gives us a realistic
chance to get some points. Nick performed well in the first
part of qualifying, but in the second session unfortunately
he was not able to record a perfect lap. With the times so
close, this can make a difference of several rows on the grid.
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