BMW Sauber F1 Team - Canadian Grand Prix - Race
Weather: dry and sunny, 27-29°C Air, 49-53°C Track
 Shock,
relief and happiness - the BMW Sauber F1 Team experienced
it all during the Canadian Grand Prix. The shock was the horrendous
accident that happened to Robert Kubica on lap 27. The relief
came halfway through the race when the team got the news from
initial medical reports that he had not suffered any serious
injuries. By the time the race was over, the crew was able
to be happy with the fantastic result of Nick Heidfeld finishing
second. This is the team's first podium of 2007 and its highest
finish. The team received even more good news that Robert
Kubica is in a Montreal hospital undergoing thorough medical
checks and, according to doctors reports, should be released
on Monday.
Nick Heidfeld: 2nd
BMW Sauber F1.07-05/BMW P86/7
Fastest Lap: 1.16.696 min on lap 19 (3rd fastest overall)
"More than anything else I am happy with the news that
Robert is okay. We hoped to get a podium and we were speculating
about maybe getting third, but didn't expect second. More
importantly, what is satisfying is I think I had a very good
chance to finish second even in normal race conditions without
so many safety cars, and Fernando being penalized. I was pulling
away from him, I had a good gap after the stop and this was
unexpected. Great thanks to the team as I think they have
developed the car very well. Until quite late we didn't know
how strong we were because I had so many problems over the
weekend, especially on Saturday. Then seeing the pace I was
doing I spoke to the team and asked them to confirm that it
was really as good as I thought. The race was great and definitely
the best moment was the start where I overtook Fernando and
was right behind Lewis in the slipstream. In the beginning
I was a bit worried about Fernando as I was not only looking
forward but looking back a bit. After that I just kept the
car on the road, which was quite complicated."
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
"This was the most emotional race weekend we have experienced
with our new team. After this race which was full of incidents
we have two reasons to be very happy today: Firstly, according
to the first medical reports, Robert has escaped this very
heavy accident relatively unscathed. Then Nick laid the foundation
stone for our first podium of the season yesterday with his
third in qualifying. Today he put in a very strong performance
and drove to second on his own merit. Congratulations to him
and the entire BMW Sauber F1 Team. I believe Robert would
have also come close to the podium today."
Willy Rampf (Technical Director):
"Most important is the news Robert isn't badly injured.
This is thanks to the high safety standards the FIA have instigated
over the past years. Before the accident Robert was in a promising
position and on course to get valuable points. We hope he
recovers quickly, but we are still waiting for news. For Nick
our race strategy payed of. After the start he took advantage
of Alonso's mistake and then drove a strong race. He was constantly
in second position without losing contact to the front and
this was not only due to the safety car periods. All in all
it was a very difficult race, and second place is fantastic
for us."
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