BMW Sauber F1 Team - Bahrain Grand Prix - Qualifying
Weather: sunny and dry, 34-35°C Air, 43-44°C Track
After a positive third free practice session in the morning,
the season's third qualifying brought a positive result for
the BMW Sauber F1 Team. Nick Heidfeld was fifth on the Bahrain
International Circuit and Robert Kubica will start next to
him on the grid from sixth.
Nick Heidfeld:
BMW Sauber F1.07-05/BMW P86/7
Qualifying: 5th, 1.33,404 min (3rd Practice: 3rd, 1.32.652
min)
"I am very happy and the team did a very good job. I
had an excellent car and my last run in the final session
was really good. The two teams in front of us were clearly
faster. The gap is significant, but we have again been the
third strongest team. To improve on these positions in the
race will only be possible if a Ferrari or a McLaren has been
extremely light today, or something unpredictable happens."
Robert Kubica:
BMW Sauber F1.07-03/BMW P86/7
Qualifying: 6th, 1.33.710 min (3rd Practice: 4th, 1.32.755min)
"Today has been positive as this is my first qualifying
this year without mistakes, so it is a step forward. I was
struggling a bit with the balance of the car, however, it
is still good and I am hoping for a good race tomorrow and
the first points of the season."
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
"I am very happy with both our drivers' results. That
was our third consecutive strong qualifying. I was happy that
we only had to go out once in Q2 to make it into Q3. This
shows the strength behind our performance, and positions five
and six reflect this exactly. In the race we will see when
the cars ahead of us will come in for the first pit stop."
Willy Rampf (Technical Director):
"Positions five and six perfectly reflect where we are
performance wise, and I am very pleased with this result.
The team and the drivers got the best possible performance
out of our package. We had no technical problems and now are
really looking forward to the race. Currently it looks as
if tomorrow we can expect another hot and dry day."
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