Formula 1 News
Kent BMW Formula 1 News (Bahrain Grand Prix)
Third and Fourth in Bahrain.
In the desert of Bahrain, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld finished third and fourth respectively, thereby giving the BMW Sauber F1 Team the lead in the Constructors' Championship, for the first in its history.
In the third round of the 2008 Formula One World Championship, the BMW Sauber F1 Team once again demonstrated its consistently increasing competitiveness by taking the lead in the Constructors' Championship. With 30 points to its tally, it now holds a one-point lead over Ferrari, with McLaren following another point behind. In the race, Robert and Nick were unable to fully match the pace of the Ferraris but proved to be clearly faster than the McLarens.
At the start, pole-sitter Robert was passed by Ferrari's Felipe Massa, and on lap three, Massa's team-mate Kimi Räikkönen also succeeded in overtaking the BMW Sauber F1 Team driver. At the same time, Nick gained two positions. At the start he was overtaken by Jarno Trulli (Toyota) but following Lewis Hamilton's poor start, which dropped him to tenth position, he was able defend his sixth place. On the second lap, Nick re-passed Trulli for fifth position and subsequently passed McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen with a stunning overtaking manoeuvre.
From this point, Robert and Nick continued in third and fourth positions, with Robert succeeding in closing the gap to Räikkönen. At the same time, lap by lap, Robert and Nick increased their lead over fifth placed McLaren driver Kovalainen. The Finn's team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, hit Fernando Alonso's
Renault from behind and had to pit for a new front wing. On rejoining the race he had dropped back to 18th position, thus dropping out of contention.
On lap 18, Robert was the first driver to come in for his first scheduled pit stop and rejoined the race in ninth position. Four laps later, on lap 22, Nick pitted for the first time, rejoining the race behind his team-mate. When all the front-runners had made their first stops, the BMW Sauber F1 Team pairing was back in third and fourth positions respectively, as they continued increasing their lead over Kovalainen.
For the remainder of the race, Robert and Nick experienced no problems whatsoever and the team delivered another two quick stops on the 42nd (Robert) and 45th (Nick) laps, thus offering the drivers the chance of finishing third and fourth. They crossed the finish line 4.9 (Robert) and 8.4 seconds behind race winner Felipe Massa, while the McLaren of Kovalainen followed, another 20 seconds further back.
"A great day for our team," said BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. "Being the new leader in the Constructors' Championship is just fantastic. That's an achievement we didn't even think about prior to the race."
Reactions to the Grand Prix of Bahrain.
After the first three fly-away races of the season the BMW Sauber F1 Team returns to Europe leading the championship. The team celebrated its third consecutive podium and, for the first time in its young history, took the lead in the standings, although the gap is only one point.
Robert Kubica: "I am happy with the result. This is my second consecutive podium and the team is leading the constructors' championship. Unfortunately I had massive wheel spin at the start and hit some debris in the first corner of the second lap. When I drove through the oil I was sure I had punctured my tyre as at that point I didn't have the information about the oil. But this was a great day for the team. I am now looking forward to Barcelona."
Nick Heidfeld: "Now after the race I'm much happier than I was yesterday. Having finished fourth is a positive result after what was a difficult weekend for me. The car's balance on this track was just not how I wanted it to be. I hope I won't have such troubles again. Finishing the race just one position behind my team mate, who started from pole while I was sixth, is a good result. I enjoyed overtaking Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen. Once again for us in the team everything went smoothly."
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): "The third podium in the third race - this was really a tailor made start to the season for our team. Finishing third and fourth in Bahrain with Robert and Nick was a very good result. Our performance gives everybody extra motivation for the coming weeks. Both drivers lost positions at the start, the reason may be technical and must be analysed. Later on both drove excellent races and the pit stops went perfectly. In the end the gap to the Ferraris was really small. The car still has more potential for us to exploit, and we shall continue to do this carefully one step at a time."
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): "Basically the race went as expected. We knew we could not match the pace of the Ferrari's here and planned our strategy accordingly. Robert and Nick made the most out of it by finishing in third and fourth. It was pleasing to see that in the end the gap to the front wasn't big, and there was no real pressure from behind. After three podiums in three races, we shall make the most of our strengths in the short break and be really motivated to close the gap even further."
To find out more about the new BMW Performance Range click here
And to find out more about the BMW EfficientDynamics programme click here
To learn more about the BMW Sauber F1 Team Click Here or go to their gallery where you can download pictures, wallpapers, video and screensavers just click here
New BMW 730d SE available from £496+VAT per month. Click Here for more details.
Kent BMW have new BMW in stock and available on low monthly payments through the BMW SELECT PCP programme. Click Here for our model selector
Or for the best selection of Approved Used BMW in South East England Click Here
For more news from Kent BMW Click Here
To contact us or find out more about us then please Click Here
Labels: BMW, BMW Motorsport, New BMW, Used_BMW
