BMW Sauber F1 Team - European GP - Race
Weather: sunny and dry, Air 20°C, Track 38-39°C
Nürburg (DEU).
After excellent starts and a promising first part of the
race, at the end of the day the race pace of the BMW Sauber
F1.06 was not good enough. Jacques Villeneuve came eighth
in the European Grand Prix at the Nürburigng and scored
one point for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. Nick Heidfeld finished
tenth.
Jacques Villeneuve: 8th
BMW Sauber F1.06-03/BMW P86
Fastest Lap: 1:34.037 min on lap 38 (12th fastest overall)
Overall a good result for us. It was very close with Fisichella
and was a good battle. With the car he had I thought he would
overtake me, but he stayed behind until the second pit stop
so that was good. Coming out of the pits each time with a
high fuel load the car was hard to drive, but once we got
the tyres used up the rhythm was good as the older the tyres
were the better the car felt.
Nick Heidfeld: 10th
BMW Sauber F1.06-05/BMW P86
Fastest Lap: 1:34.035 min on lap 47 (11th fastest overall)
I made a super start and was able to make up four positions
in the first corner. I then tried very hard but I couldn’t
keep up with the pace of the drivers in front of me. I was
struggling with the balance of the car, which is a problem
I have had since the Imola race and I don’t have a solution
yet. We have to analyse this as a matter of urgency.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
From our point of view the race reflected the rest of the
weekend. We were simply not fast enough. At least Jacques
had the speed to stay in the points for two thirds of the
race, but during and after the second pit stop he could not
keep up the same pace as some of his competitors. Nick was
able to make up some positions in the first corners, but later
in the race he also came under pressure. However, after a
relatively poor performance on Friday, we can be satisfied
with this one championship point. There were no technical
problems at all in the race. Congratulations to Michael Schumacher
and Ferrari for a very convincing victory.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director Chassis):
Both our drivers made excellent starts and made up places
in the early stages. For our team it was a very exciting race
because we were involved in battles for position the whole
time. Both cars ran without even the smallest problem over
the entire weekend, so the championship point is a well deserved
reward.
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