Bahrain Grand Prix – Race, Sunday – 06.04.08
Weather: Dry, 28-29°C Air, 36-38°C Track
After the first three fly-away races of the season the BMW
Sauber F1 Team returns to Europe leading the championship.
Robert Kubica, who claimed the first pole position for the
team on Saturday, and Nick Heidfeld were third and fourth
respectively at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The team celebrated
its third consecutive podium and, for the first time in its
young history, took the lead in the standings, although the
gap is only one point.
Robert Kubica: 3rd BMW Sauber F1.08-03 /
BMW P86/8 Fastest Lap: 1.33.775 min on lap 55 (5th fastest
overall) “I am happy with the result. This is my second
consecutive podium and the team is leading the constructors’
championship. Unfortunately I had massive wheel spin at the
start and hit some debris in the first corner of the second
lap. When I drove through the oil I was sure I had punctured
my tyre as at that point I didn’t have the information
about the oil. But this was a great day for the team. I am
now looking forward to Barcelona.”
Nick Heidfeld: 4th BMW Sauber F1.08-04 /
BMW P86/8 Fastest Lap: 1.33.565 min on lap 48 (2nd fastest
overall) “Now after the race I’m much happier
than I was yesterday. Having finished fourth is a positive
result after what was a difficult weekend for me. The car’s
balance on this track was just not how I wanted it to be.
I hope I won’t have such troubles again. Finishing the
race just one position behind my team mate, who started from
pole while I was sixth, is a good result. I enjoyed overtaking
Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen. Once again for us in the
team everything went smoothly.”
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
“The third podium in the third race – this was
really a tailor made start to the season for our team. Finishing
third and fourth in Bahrain with Robert and Nick was a very
good result. Our performance gives everybody extra motivation
for the coming weeks. Both drivers lost positions at the start,
the reason may be technical and must be analysed. Later on
both drove excellent races and the pit stops went perfectly.
In the end the gap to the Ferraris was really small. The car
still has more potential for us to exploit, and we shall continue
to do this carefully one step at a time.“
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): “Basically
the race went as expected. We knew we could not match the
pace of the Ferrari’s here and planned our strategy
accordingly. Robert and Nick made the most out of it by finishing
in third and fourth. It was pleasing to see that in the end
the gap to the front wasn’t big, and there was no real
pressure from behind. After three podiums in three races,
we shall make the most of our strengths in the short break
and be really motivated to close the gap even further.”
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