Malaysian Grand Prix – Qualifying,
Weather: Overcast but dry, 28-29°C Air, 36-39°C Track
BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers, Robert Kubica and Hick Heidfeld,
came sixth and seventh respectively in the qualifying session
for the PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix. The BMW Sauber F1 Team
is the only one that has managed to bring both cars into the
top ten of qualifying for the twentieth consecutive time.
Robert Kubica: BMW Sauber F1.08-03 / BMW
P86/8 Qualifying 6th, 1.36.727 min (3rd practice: 17th, 1.36.618
min) “I’m quite happy with today’s performance,
although just a little was missing for me to be on the second
row of the grid. The unpredictable weather brought an additional
thrill to the qualifying. With the set-up I chose, I knew
that qualifying would not be easy for me, but over the weekend
we have put a lot of effort into the race preparation so I’m
optimistic for tomorrow. ”
Nick Heidfeld: BMW Sauber F1.08-04 / BMW
P86/8 Qualifying 7th, 1.36.753 min (3rd practice: 1st, 1.35.019
min) “I’m very disappointed about the outcome
of Q3. The first corners of my last lap went smoothly, but
then there were several cars driving very slowly on their
in-laps. Apparently they had no information that the qualifying
was still going on. Before turn four I lost a lot of time
because both McLarens were cruising on the racing line. I
think this has cost me about two tenths of a second, which
would have meant being third instead of seventh. I just couldn’t
drive on the line I wanted and, even more importantly, could
not brake were I wanted. However, I was very happy with my
car in qualifying.”
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): “Ferrari
was in a class of its own in qualifying. Behind them it was
extremely tight. From P3 there were five cars within only
15 hundredths of a second. In this group we missed out on
a bit of luck, so we ended up sixth and seventh. In the race
tomorrow the weather will play a crucial role.”
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): “With
this result we are the only team to have made it into the
top ten of qualifying with both drivers for the 20th time
since the end of 2006. That shows the consistency within our
team. All three parts of qualifying were very exciting, because
there was the continued threat of a rain shower. As a result
we had to change our programme several times. In Q3 everything
was very tight and our drivers just missed by the blink of
an eye to be in better positions. Nick lost time on his final
run because he didn’t have a clear track, as there were
several cars in the way driving slowly on their in-laps.”
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