Malaysian Grand Prix – Race, Sunday – 23.03.08
Weather: Overcast but dry, 30°C Air, 39-45°C Track
Sepang (MAL).
In the humid heat of Sepang the BMW Sauber F1 Team scored
11 championship points – the best result for the young
crew so far. Robert Kubica finished second after a strong
performance at the PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix. Nick Heidfeld
was sixth, having lost ground right after the start. For the
statistic books there were eight laps in the lead for Kubica,
and Heidfeld set the first fastest lap of the race for the
team and himself. After two of 18 races the BMW Sauber F1
Team is second in the Constructors’ Championship with
19 points.
Robert Kubica: 2nd BMW Sauber F1.08-03
/ BMW P86/8 Fastest Lap: 1.35.921 min on lap 39 (6th fastest)
“It’s a fantastic day for the team, for Petronas
and for me - the second consecutive podium. After Monza 2006
I finally managed to get another podium myself. I want to
thank everybody in the team who worked very hard over the
last two months to improve the car. I didn’t have a
good start because of too much wheel spin, and was fighting
with Nick and Jarno Trulli. I took the dirty inside line and
almost lost the car, but somehow I managed to get through
the corner and overtake them. From this moment on I drove
at my own pace. The Ferraris were too quick, but I was able
to increase the gap from the cars following me. After the
second pit stop I reduced the revs to save the engine and
took it easy. I didn’t feel very well all weekend and
it was very hot in the car, so the last ten laps were pretty
tough. But it all paid off with a brilliant result.”
Nick Heidfeld: 6th BMW Sauber F1.08-04 /
BMW P86/8 Fastest Lap: 1.35.366 min on lap 55 (fastest overall)
“I have mixed emotions about today’s race. Of
course I’m happy to have clocked up my first fastest
race lap in F1, and 11 points are also the best ever result
for our team. The pace of the car was really, really good
– about the same level as the McLaren. That’s
all very positive and makes it even more disappointing that
I only finished sixth. My start was very good and then I tried
to overtake right on the outside in the first corner. Robert
was on the inside, and Jarno Trulli was between us –
I just ran out of room. It was a try, but it didn’t
work out. I picked up some dirt and lost two more positions
on the first lap. At least I got them back when I overtook
David Coulthard and Fernando Alonso on lap four. Again our
pit crew did a very good job.“
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): “This
was another good performance for our team. Robert was able
to establish himself behind the Ferrari right after the start.
He drove a very strong race and claimed not only his second
podium, but also his best result in F1. Nick had no luck in
the first corner and lost some positions. I regard it as a
success that he still managed to finish sixth and also clocked
up the fastest race lap. Of course we are very pleased with
the early days of the season – two podiums in two races,
19 nice points to our account and 11 points in one go is a
new record for us. That’s all very positive and a good
basis for the next races.“
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): “The
second second place in a row, fastest race lap, thanks to
Nick, and eleven points – we are very pleased how this
season has started for us. It was another fantastic race for
us. Only the Ferrari was faster than Robert today, and I am
especially happy for him that all went so well after he had
a lot of bad luck in Australia. While Robert was able to gain
a place at the start, Nick unfortunately lost a few. Later
he managed to come back and executed a very fine overtaking
manoeuvre by catching two cars at once. We had no technical
problems on either car, the performance was again very strong.
Now highly motivated we fly back to Hinwil and Munich and
look forward to the coming races .
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