Brazilian Grand Prix – Race,
Weather: Hot and sunny, 36-37°C Air, 57-64°C Track
The BMW Sauber F1 Team has ended the 2007 season on a high
at the final race of the season in Brazil. Not only did both
cars cross the finish line at Interlagos in the points, with
Robert Kubica fifth and Nick Heidfeld sixth, but kept up its
one hundred per cent record of scoring in each race of the
season. As if that was not enough for the young team to celebrate
in only its second season, its tally of points has reached
the impressive total of 101.
Robert Kubica:
5th BMW Sauber F1.07-03/BMW P86/7 (T-car F1.07.04) Fastest
Lap: 1.12.686 min on lap 61 (4th fastest overall) “The
race started pretty well, especially after my problem in qualifying.
I had to push right from the start because of my three stop
strategy. Everything was going all right until I got the call
to reduce the rpm of the engine because the temperatures were
too high. Then when I was behind Nico Rosberg I was losing
a lot of time each lap. In the last ten laps I was having
lots of problems with the tyres and I was just trying to keep
the car on the track. In the end if was a good season for
the team.”
Nick Heidfeld:
6th BMW Sauber F1.07-08/BMW P86/7 Fastest Lap: 1.13.452 min
on lap 53 (10th fastest overall) “We have cracked the
hundred points’ milestone, and it was a fantastic season.
At the start Robert passed me, as he had the advantage of
a lighter car and the clean line on the grid. During the race
graining was an issue with the front tyres as well as the
rear tyres, and this resulted in a couple of mistakes, but
this must have been the case for everybody. But still in the
final stint I was fourth until Nico Rosberg outbraked me.
The manoeuvre was hard and on the limit, but if I had not
opened the door we would have crashed. We both went on the
dirt a little bit and Robert squeezed through. At the very
end I was faster than him again but couldn’t go by.
I find it unbelievable that Kimi Räikkönen has won
the World Championship.”
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
“First of all congratulations to Kimi Räikkönen
who won the world championship title in a real thriller today.
For our team it was a great finish to a very good season.
With positions five and six we reached the 100 point mark
in the final race and scored almost three times as many points
as in the previous season. I would like to thank the drivers
and the whole team – not only here at the track, but
especially in Munich and Hinwil. With this we have created
a good basis for the coming season.”
Willy Rampf (Technical Director):
“For us it was a very good ending to the season which
gave us 101 points in only our second season with the BMW
Sauber F1 Team. We went into the race with two different strategies
– Robert with an aggressive three stopper, Nick with
two stops. Both paid off well. Compliments to the whole team
for the great job everybody has done during the season. Congratulations
to Kimi Räikkönen who was crowned champion in a
very dramatic race.
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