BMW Sauber F1 Team - Brazilian Grand Prix - Preview
17th World Championship race - the final
While attention will largely be trained on the three-way
battle for the drivers' crown in the Formula One World Championship,
the BMW Sauber F1 Team has had its championship runner-up
position safely wrapped up well before the final in Brazil.
After the technical gremlins that wreaked havoc during the
last three grand prix weekends, the team now hopes to cap
its successful second season with a strong closing performance.
Nick Heidfeld:
"For me, the circuit in São Paulo is one of the
best of all. It is challenging - both in terms of driving
skill and physically. It's an anti-clockwise track and the
straight is actually a long sweeping curve that puts your
neck muscles under real strain. Then there's the bumpy surface.
The best sections come after turn three. Turn five, which
is an uphill double right-hander, is one of my favourites.
I took my first podium finish in Interlagos in 2001 after
coming third. That's something you never forget."
Robert Kubica:
"Of course we are looking forward to Brazil. We will
try our best, and then everything we do once we get back to
Europe will be new as we will be working for next year. The
track itself is very bumpy and quite tricky. There is a big
uphill section after the last corner where last year we were
losing a lot of speed, especially in the race, so I hope we
can do better this year. Though the 2006 race was not bad,
I only finished ninth, and this year I want to score points
in the season's finale."
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director:
"As in previous years, Brazil will again be hosting the
final round. The winner of the title was decided in the final
race there in 2006. Likewise, this year we won't know who
the champion is until the Interlagos event. With three candidates
vying for the laurels, fans can look forward to a gripping
finale.
The circuit is very varied, as indeed is the weather. Engine
performance is key on the start/finish straight, which is
not only long but also on an incline. This uphill section
also makes for an exciting race start. One salient feature
of the venue is the altitude of São Paulo: due to the
thinner air here, engine power is curtailed by around eight
percent compared with driving at sea level.
For the BMW Sauber F1 Team this has been a successful season.
We can be proud of what we have achieved, both in terms of
our development work over the winter and the pace of development
during the season. In our two start-up years we have reached
our target each time. In 2007 we started out from fifth place
in the World Championship - with 36 championship points earned
in our debut season. Fourth place with a clear points increase
was a firm commitment, third place an option. It was very
gratifying to be able to see ourselves as the third-strongest
team right from the start and to shore up that position in
virtually every race. An administrative decision even handed
us second place on a plate, but that really doesn't mean anything
to us as we know there are still four cars that are faster
than ours. Our aim is to beat them out on the race track."
Willy Rampf, Technical Director:
"The most crucial sector at Interlagos is the middle
one where there's one turn after another. It calls for plenty
of downforce, good traction and balance. Maximum speed is
key in the first and third sectors, with the uphill section
of the start/finish straight demanding substantial engine
output. One feature at Interlagos that should not be underrated
is the track surface. Even though it has undergone several
improvements, the circuit still makes for quite a bumpy ride.
That has to be taken into consideration for the mechanical
set-up. After two rather mixed-bag grands prix, we want to
pull out all the stops again for our last race and see out
a very successful season on a positive note."
Following the exclusion of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Team from the Constructors' World Championship, the BMW Sauber
F1 Team is in second place in the standings on 94 points after
16 of 17 World Championship races.
History and background:
Formula One has been hosted by Brazil since 1973, and 2007
marks the country's 35th Grand Prix. The debut event was held
in Interlagos, with the track still covering 7.96 kilometres
at the time and located outside the city limits. The most
densely populated metropolis in the southern hemisphere has
long since mushroomed right up to the outskirts of the race
track. In 1978 the Brazilian GP was held at the Jacarepagua
circuit near Rio de Janeiro for the first time, where it was
hosted ten times in all. Since 1990 Formula One has been staged
on the much shortened Interlagos race track, which has undergone
a series of minor upgrades.
The city of São Paulo, founded in 1554, is the capital
of the southern Brazilian state that bears its name and that
is the largest area of concentrated industry in Latin America.
São Paulo is a financial and trading hub as well as
a huge, sprawling metropolis. Its population is currently
estimated at 11 million. Extreme social divides, widespread
poverty and rising crime figures ensure that the city is never
far from the headlines.
São Paulo lies 750 metres above sea level and the
circuit just beyond it has an elevation of around 800 metres.
The thin air at this altitude means all Formula One engines
forfeit around eight percent of their potential power.
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