BMW Sauber F1 Team - Test in Bahrain

BMW Sauber F1 Team - Test in Bahrain - Day two

February 10th – 13th 2009

Day two – Wednesday


Weather conditions: Sunny in the early morning, sandstorms for the rest of the day.

Temperature: Air: 19 – 23 °C, Track: 20 – 26 °C

Number of drivers participating: 3 from 3 teams

Fastest lap overall: Felipe Massa (Scuderia Ferrari) 1:33.639 min

Circuit length: 5.412 km


Robert Kubica
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.09-02 / BMW 86/9
Test kilometres today: 120 (22 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:34.398 min


Programme:
The day started with perfect weather allowing the BMW Sauber F1 Team to work on the development of the new car. However, from 10 o’clock a sandstorm started, reducing visibility significantly. The conditions meant the medical helicopter would not have been able to fly, so the session was stopped. As the weather conditions did not improve during the day the session was not re-started.

BMW Sauber F1 Team - Test in Bahrain - Day four

February 10th – 13th 2009

Day four - Friday


Weather conditions: Some fog early in the morning, sunny for the rest of the day.

Temperature: Air: 16 – 21 °C, Track: 21 – 29 °C

Number of drivers participating: 3 from 3 teams

Fastest lap overall: Kimi Raikkönen (Scuderia Ferrari) 1:33.325 min

Circuit length: 5.412 km


Christian Klien
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.09-02 / BMW 86/9
Test kilometres today: 677 (125 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:33.666 min


Programme:
Finally with perfect weather, the BMW Sauber F1 Team resumed its test programme on the last day of this week’s running. Christian Klien concentrated on set-up work and tried different tyre compounds. With the car running for 125 laps (677 kms), the engineers were able to collect a lot of data on the car’s behaviour in warm weather conditions.

“In the morning the track was still slightly wet as a result of being cleaned after yesterday’s sandstorm. Because of this it took some time to build up a proper grip level. That gave me the opportunity to get used to the BMW Sauber F1.09, which I drove for the very first time”, Klien said. “In the afternoon the track conditions were much better and we were able to go ahead with our test programme as scheduled.”

BMW Sauber F1 Team - Test in Bahrain - Week two/Day two

February 16th – 19th 2009

Week two / Day two – Tuesday


Weather conditions: Sunny in morning, hazy in the afternoon.

Temperature: Air: 20 – 29 °C, Track: 21 – 35 °C

Number of drivers participating: 3 from 3 teams

Fastest lap overall: Kimi Raikkönen (Scuderia Ferrari) 1:32.102 min

Circuit length: 5.412 km


Nick Heidfeld
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.09-02 / BMW 86/9
Test kilometres today: 563 (104 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:32.585 min


Programme:
Despite the weather not being as perfect as yesterday, the BMW Sauber F1 Team continued with development work on the F1.09 car. Nick Heidfeld concentrated on the mechanical set-up, trying various specifications of dampers and torsion bars. He also did a couple of practice starts in the morning and at the end of the session.

“Today I drove the new BMW Sauber F1.09 in warm weather conditions for the first time, so the most important thing for me was to learn more about the general balance of the car”, Heidfeld said after completing xxxx laps. “Overall it was a good day because I tried a lot of different set-up solutions. I already feel happy about how the car reacts to changes.”

In the morning the car stopped on the track when a standard kill switch accidentally cut off the main electronic control unit and engaged the automatic fire extinguishing system. With some modifications to the switch linkage – and a cleaned up car – Heidfeld resumed testing.

What comes next:
Tomorrow Nick Heidfeld will be at the wheel of the BMW Sauber F1.09 again for another day of testing at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit.

BMW Sauber F1 Team - Test in Bahrain - Week two/Day four

16th – 19th February 2009

Week two / Day four - Thursday


Weather conditions: Sunny all day, windy in the afternoon.

Air temperature: 19 – 24 °C, track temperature: 20 – 31 °C

Number of drivers participating: 3 from 3 teams

Fastest lap overall: Felipe Massa (Scuderia Ferrari) 1:32.162 min

Circuit length: 5.412 km


Nick Heidfeld
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.09-02 / BMW 86/9
Test kilometres today: 661 (122 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:32.225 min


Programme:
On the last day of this week’s test session Nick Heidfeld again worked on the set-up of the BMW Sauber F1.09. He concentrated on the suspension and aerodynamics. He also did a couple of practice starts and ended the day with long runs, pushing the total mileage for the eight days of testing up to 3,695 km. His work was interrupted twice due to mechanical problems. “Today the track conditions were the best they have been all week,” Heidfeld said. “We could already try a couple of improvements. The car reacts to changes as planned, so I’m confident we are working in the right direction.”

Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber Technical Coordinator, added: “Although we lost some time due to a sandstorm last week, the long test in Bahrain was very productive. We could work with the cars in temperatures we would not have encountered in Europe at this time of the year, making it good preparation for the first races of the upcoming season. We worked mainly on the general set-up of the BMW Sauber F1.09, trying numerous solutions on the mechanical and aero side of the car as well as gaining experience with the three available tyre compounds. We also made good progress with KERS. Overall we reached our target of collecting as much data as possible about the car’s reactions to changes in the set-up.”


What comes next:
This concludes the two four-day test sessions on Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit. The next scheduled test will see the BMW Sauber F1 Team in action in Jerez, Spain from Sunday 1st March to Thursday 5th March.