11/05/2008
NEWS STORY
The BMW Sauber F1 Team was able to defend second in the constructors' championship in the FIA Formula One Word Championship by scoring nine points in the Turkish Grand Prix. Robert Kubica came fourth in Istanbul, and Nick Heidfeld followed him home in fifth.
Robert Kubica: Today the pace of the car was much better than in yesterday's third qualifying session. I was happy with its balance. I made a very good start and managed to gain two positions. I was then racing Kimi Räikkonen, but he pitted later and overtook me at the pit stop. I was then a little bit slower than the three guys in front of me, but quicker than the rest of the pack. This was the maximum possible for me today.
Nick Heidfeld: This is what I hoped for from 9th on the grid. To finish 5th was the best I could achieve today. I wanted to overtake Jarno Trulli at the start and this worked, then I gained two more positions during the pit stops. After the first stint I had a pretty lonely race and in the end I was even able to reduce the engine revs.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): Taking our starting positions of fifth and ninth into account, I am very happy with today's result. Both drivers gained positions at the start. Kimi Räikkönen was able to overtake Robert during his first pit stop as we expected. On the other hand, Nick gained two places during his first pit stop. Fourth and fifth and nine championship points underline the team's performance today.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): We have scored nine important points. This is more than can be expected if you start from fifth and ninth, therefore we are happy with the results. Both drivers had troublefree races with no errors. Now we are confident as we look forward to Monaco.