06/08/2006
NEWS STORY
In its 13th race the new BMW Sauber F1 Team celebrated its first podium. Nick Heidfeld finished third in the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest. After a spectacular race F1 debutant Robert Kubica came seventh in his BMW Sauber F1.06. This result means the BMW Sauber F1 Team has claimed back fifth position in the Constructors' World Championship from Toyota.
Nick Heidfeld: This is a fantastic day. Not only for me but for the entire team. Especially as we had a rather low point after the last two races. It is also very good that Robert finished in the points. This result gives all of us enormous motivation. My race was good. I had to be somewhat careful with the tyres to avoid overheating, but I believe this was the case for most of the drivers today. The pit crew did an excellent job. They got me ahead of Coulthard and allowed me to be on the podium. Although it was a great race I did have two worrying moments, one earlier in the race when I went off on some gravel and then near the end when I overtook Michael Schumacher. He ran into the back of me and destroyed his suspension, although my steering was then damaged I knew I had an advantage so took it easy to the end of the race.
Robert Kubica: My start was very good. But then I struggled a bit with the conditions because I don't have a lot of experience with the traction control and other settings. On lap two I made a mistake in the chicane and spun. Later on I made another mistake and hit the barriers. Because of this we had to change the pit stop strategy and I finished the race on intermediate tyres. They were destroyed in the end and this is why I was so slow. The result is good, but my driving today was not. I made too many mistakes.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): We are extremely happy about the first podium for our new team. Nick drove a fantastic race under very difficult conditions und definitely deserved his podium finish. Robert managed to get two points in his first F1 Grand Prix. At the beginning of the race he found his new territory somewhat slippery. This result gives a lot of momentum for the rest of the season. A big thank you goes to the entire team. Not only here at the track but also to the colleagues in Munich and in Hinwil
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): This is a fantastic result after a very exciting race under difficult conditions. When Robert pitted with the nose damaged we had to change his strategy, but it was too early for dry tyres. We were aware of the risk of leaving him on intermediates, but another stop would have cost us at least one position. Robert's pace and performance in his very first F1 race has been very good. He also fought well for positions. For Nick the strategy worked as planned. He drove a race without mistakes and we put him on dry tyres at his second stop. He took every chance offered to improve his race position and finished on the podium.
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