Malaysian Grand Prix – Practice, Friday – 21.03.08
Weather: dry, 28-31°C Air, 41-45°C Track Sepang (MAL).
The BMW Sauber F1 Team overall had a positive start to the
weekend of the PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix in the humid
heat of Sepang. Robert Kubica was eighth fastest in both free
practice sessions on Friday, although he lost some track time
in the morning due to a gear box change. As planned, Nick
Heidfeld was able to tick off his to do list for the usual
Friday set-up work and was 11th and 13th.
Robert Kubica: BMW Sauber F1.08-03 / BMW
P86/8 1st Practice : 8th, 1.37.218 min / 2nd Practice: 8th,
1.36.671 min “After I had lost quite some time in the
morning session due to a gearbox problem, we mainly concentrated
on evaluating different downforce configurations and comparing
the tyres in the afternoon. We now have a lot of data available,
which we have to analyse and understand in order to make the
right decisions for the rest of the weekend. We haven’t
had much time yet to work on the set-up of the car, so there
is more to come.”
Nick Heidfeld: BMW Sauber F1.08-04 / BMW
P86/8 1st Practice : 11th, 1.37.649 min / 2nd Practice: 13th,
1.37.106 min “I’m quite happy with the Friday
sessions. The car’s balance here is initially better
than it was on Friday in Melbourne, although it is not really
good yet. I hope we manage to find a couple of set-up improvements
for Saturday, just like we did in Australia. Although the
track has been resurfaced, it has a quite good grip level
which is not always the case. A big question mark is the weather.
Precise predictions for rain are difficult here. I don’t
have anything against normal rain, the opposite is the case.
But even I don’t wish for a tropical downpour here for
the race. If this happens you just don’t see anything
and have too much aquaplaning.”
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): “We
concentrated on the race preparation today and collected a
lot of data concerning the tyres. We also tested different
aerodynamic configurations. Now we will analyse the data.
On Robert’s car we measured a gearbox pressure that
was too high. There was a risk of damaging the cooling system,
therefore we decided to change the rear end to enable Robert
to continue the session. Compliments to the mechanics, who
did a great job. We had a dry first day of practice, but we
expect some rain for the remainder of the weekend.”
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