BMW Sauber F1 Team - Chinese GP

BMW Sauber F1 Team - Chinese GP - Preview

17th – 19th October 2008
17th of 18 World Championship races

Munich/Hinwil, 12th October 2008. The Asian leg of the Formula One season continues with the penultimate round of the 18-race World Championship in Shanghai this coming Sunday, 19th October.


Nick Heidfeld:
“On the whole, I quite like this circuit. The first three corners are among the best on the calendar. You come in with a lot of speed, and the first corner remains pretty fast initially. But then it tightens up more and more and you have to change down into second gear. Getting out the other end in good shape will be just a bit more difficult this year with the absence of traction control. Every time you come here you’re impressed by the huge scale of the paddock and grandstands; there’s nothing else like it. Last year I got unlucky with the timing of a tyre change onto a fresh set of wets. Second place was possible, but that turned into seventh when I had to come in for an extra stop.

Shanghai will be the fifth Asian city in a row I’ve visited – after Singapore, Seoul, Gwang-ju and Tokyo – and each one is different. Shanghai is certainly the fastest-growing and without doubt the one with the worst traffic conditions. Each time we come to Shanghai there are new skyscrapers, but every year a few of the old districts also disappear from the city centre.”


Robert Kubica:
“Shanghai is an interesting circuit with a very long straight, and here there’s a good chance to overtake. The track offers a mixture of very different corners; there are some slow areas but also several fast sections. The first corner is particularly challenging. You stay on the brakes for a long time, and then it quickly switches into a left-hander. I haven’t had much luck at this circuit so far. I hope that changes this time and I can pick up some important points for the World Championship.”


Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director:
“Just a week after the race in Japan we travel to China for the second part of this Asian double-header. This means we will have had five races on this continent this year. If you add the Turkish Grand Prix, that means there are six GPs in Asia – a third of the season. Plus, next year will also see the first visit of Formula One to Abu Dhabi. All of which shows that the top category of motor racing has established a major foothold in Asia.

Shanghai has developed dramatically as a business centre and China is a future market with significant growth potential. From the point of view of BMW and our partners, the race in Shanghai is therefore of particular importance. BMW has operated its own production facility in China since 2004, where the BMW 3 Series and BMW 5 Series models are made.

This will be the fifth time that Formula One comes to China. The scale of the facility in Shanghai is beyond any other venue on the calendar and the track layout is a tough challenge. We are very much looking forward to the penultimate race of the season.”


Willy Rampf, Technical Director:
“The track in Shanghai stands out with its very special layout. A particularly interesting section is the double right-hander, double left-hander combination at the end of the start-finish straight. The drivers approach it with a lot of speed and then stay on the brakes for a long time on the entry. This is a very unusual section, which places heavy demands on the tyres.

The long straight offers a good overtaking opportunity, as it feeds into a hairpin and the track is very wide at this point, allowing the drivers to take two different lines. The combination of widely contrasting corners demands a high level of aerodynamic efficiency. With the tyres put under such heavy loads we use the hardest Bridgestone compounds here.”

BMW sauber F1 Team - Chinese GP - Race

Weather: dry and overcast, 27�C Air, 28-31�C Track


Shanghai (CN). Both BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers put in strong race performances in the Chinese Grand Prix. Nick Heidfeld started ninth and improved to fifth, while Robert Kubica was eleventh on the grid and finished sixth. However, a further seven points for the BMW Sauber F1 Team and three points for Robert in today�s race were not enough to keep the outsiders championship chances alive.

Nick Heidfeld: 5th
BMW Sauber F1.08-07 / BMW P86/8
Fastest lap 1:36.498 min on lap 56 (3rd fastest overall)
�I�m quite happy with today�s race. At the start I gained positions and in corner two I overtook Sebastian Vettel on the outside. He touched the rear of my car, but he has already told me it wasn�t on purpose and, anyway, nothing happened. So after a few corners I was sixth again � just where I thought I would start from after qualifying. Later in the race I reduced the engine revs to save it for Brazil. It is a fact we now don�t have any hopes of claiming the constructors� title, and neither can Robert win the drivers� championship. But we shouldn�t be too disappointed, the team has had a fantastic third season, and Robert especially had a very good year. It�s not over yet.�

Robert Kubica: 6th
BMW Sauber F1.08-05 / BMW P86/8
Fastest lap 1:36.854 min on lap 56 (7th fastest overall)
�After a very difficult qualifying I�m pleased with sixth. I made up a position at the start and then another two when Jarno Trulli and S�bastien Bourdais touched in the first corner. The balance of the car was still not good in the first two stints, and it only changed in the final stint after we changed to the softer compound. There is now one race left, and I shall try hard to defend my third place in the drivers� championship.�

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
�Coming fifth and sixth is a good outcome after yesterday�s disappointing qualifying. Both drivers put in the ground work for this result at the start, and after that drove fine races without any mistakes. The strategy was good, all pit stops worked out perfectly, and we had no technical problems.�

Willy Rampf (Technischer Director):
�If you start from ninth and 11th on the grid and finish the race fifth and sixth you do have to be satisfied. The drivers gained three positions each right at the start. Robert, in particular, reacted perfectly when a car spun right in front of him. During the race both drivers were doing well with the strategy. Thank you to the whole team for the good work, especially during all the pit stops.�