Report Saturday – Is BMW still the third force?

BMW, as we know, is now focusing primarily on its 2008 single-seater, aiming to be one of the two best teams. This doesn’t mean the team is abandoning 2007, but the performances are significantly less impressive than a few months ago.

Indeed, BMW is now being surpassed by Red Bull in terms of performance, but the drivers of the German team have not given up hope of making a podium for the last race of the year.

Nick Heidfeld – 7th and 6th

I’m very happy. My second-to-last lap wasn’t bad, and the last one was simply amazing.

« At the beginning of qualifying, I wasn’t comfortable with the car, I even spun in Q2, but by the end of the session, I felt much better with the car and ended up taking 6th place. Encouraging for tomorrow.

Robert Kubica – 20th and 7th

« But my qualifications could have been better. On my last fast lap, in fact, I had to overtake Alonso. He let me through without any issues, but I had to swerve on the straight and picked up some rubber debris that dirtied my tires for the following corners. I then locked up a wheel in the last corner, which must have cost me a lot of time. »

« I imagine that with graining, the race tomorrow will be difficult on the tire front. »

Mario Theissen – Director

« As in 16 of the 17 races this 2007 season, we managed to get both our drivers into the top 10. But today, I am not satisfied with our result. Nick [Heidfeld]’s times in the first two sectors were not good, but he still managed to secure a nice 6th place time in the last part of the qualifying. Regarding Kubica, we think that with his wheel lock-up in the last corner, he lost 7 tenths, which is equivalent to two positions… »

Willy Rampf – Technical Director

« The track had nothing to do with this morning concerning grip and balance. As a result, Heidfeld struggled to find a good balance but eventually managed it in Q3 and set the 6th fastest time. »

« Kubica had a strong Q1 and Q2, and was also good in the first two sectors of his quick lap in Q3 until he lost significant fractions of a second due to an overtaking move. However, qualifying positions six and seven should give us good chances in the race. »