27/05/2007
NEWS STORY
In an exciting Monaco Grand Prix, the fifth round of the world championship, the BMW Sauber F1 Team scored points for the fifth consecutive time and strengthened its third place in the constructors' championship. Robert Kubica finished fifth and Nick Heidfeld sixth.
Robert Kubica: Unfortunately I don't think our one stop strategy was the right one for this year's Monaco. We expected Safety Car periods and these did not happen. Looking back now, I think we could have finished better, but I am happy to have scored some important points again. I had a small problem with the brakes soon after the start of the race and had to pump them all the time which did not make me feel confident. Then I was stuck in traffic and at the end I had a sensor problem which meant I was without traction control for quite a long time.
Nick Heidfeld: Because of my one stop strategy the most important thing for me to do was overtake Mark Webber at the start, and this worked out. I was also able to get passed Nico Rosberg, although our cars touched in the first corner but luckily mine wasn't damaged. In the early laps of my first stint I had some problems with the soft tyres, but later they became better and better. On my second stint I lost quite a few seconds when I had to let the two McLarens by. It was enough to let Robert get just in front of me after his pit stop. But altogether I am quite happy with the result.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): McLaren Mercedes has achieved an impressive one-two here – congratulations to the team. Monaco was again an exciting race, although there wasn't much overtaking. The choice of strategy was crucial here – one or two stops was the question. Some had clear laps for most of the race while others got stuck in traffic and lost time. We are pleased we were reliable again, bringing both cars home and scoring seven important points.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): We can be pleased with this result as we have seven championship points after a race which was thrilling for us. Nick had quite a heavy fuel load, and in the early stages of the race he lost too much time with the softer of the two tyre compounds. Only after the tyres had come back was he able to achieve the lap times we had expected. Robert started the race with even more fuel on board, but as early in the race he got stuck in traffic he couldn't exploit the car's potential. When he had a clear track his lap times dropped immediately.
To check out our Monaco Grand Prix gallery, click here