Spanish Grand Prix – Race,
Weather: Dry, 23-24°C Air, 37-40°C Track
The BMW Sauber F1 Team ended up with five Championship points
for Robert Kubica after an action packed Spanish Grand Prix.
This means second in the Constructor’s standings ahead
of McLaren Mercedes, who lost a car in a heavy accident. Initial
information is that Heikki Kovalainen is ok. Nick Heidfeld
had bad luck as he was forced to refuel during the subsequent
safety car period. A stop and go penalty dropped him down
from fifth to the back of the pack.
Robert Kubica: 4th BMW Sauber F1.08-03 /
BMW P86/8 Fastest Lap: 1.22.106 min on lap 20 (4th fastest
overall) “We had a very good pace during today’s
race. Unfortunately I lost a position at the start. Anyway
at the end our gap to the leader was only five seconds. If
someone had told me that yesterday I would not have believed
it. I hope Heikki is ok. When I passed the accident I saw
the car in a very strange position. The FIA is making great
efforts for car safety, so we have to be really thankful to
them.”
Nick Heidfeld: 9th BMW Sauber F1.08-04
/ BMW P86/8 Fastest Lap: 1.22.519 min on lap 21 (7th fastest
overall) “At the start I managed to gain the two positions
I had wanted to. That’s positive, especially because
recently we have had less impressive starts. I was fifth in
the race when I had bad luck with the timing of the safety
car period and my first pit stop. I had just passed the pit
entry when I got the signal to come in. I then tried to save
fuel and delay my pit stop, but in the end it was the choice
between running out of fuel on the track or getting a stop
and go penalty.”
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
“First of all we are all relieved that after his accident
Heikki Kovalainen signalled he was okay. Robert lost a position
at the start and was close behind Lewis Hamilton turning into
the first corner. He was almost as close to Hamilton when
he finally crossed the finish line. Nick gained two positions
at the start so was well on his way. The safety-car period
destroyed our strategy. We literally missed getting Nick into
the pit lane before the safety car by a few seconds. As a
result he had to refuel during the safety-car period, and
we got a 10 second penalty because of that. For our team it
was the least points we have scored so far this season, but
we had a good performance throughout the weekend without any
technical problems.”
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): “Overall
we expected more from this race. Robert lost a position to
Hamilton right after the start and, because they both had
a similar speed and were on the same pit stop strategy, he
couldn’t get third place back. Nick purely had bad luck.
Just before he was supposed to come in, the Safety Car went
out. His tank was empty and he was forced to enter the pit
lane under the red light. The ten second penalty ruined his
race.“
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