26/08/2006
NEWS STORY
For the fourth time the BMW Sauber F1 Team has seen both its cars in the top ten for qualifying and here in Istanbul achieved its best performance in these sessions. Nick Heidfeld was sixth and Robert Kubica ninth, but both drivers will gain one grid position due to another driver having an engine change.
Nick Heidfeld: I am a little bit surprised that everything went so well. Our performance in Hungary was, in my opinion, due to exceptional circumstances. If we compare today's result to the races prior to then the improvement is an enormous step forward. It shows the guys in Munich and Hinwil worked really well during the summer break, and here we have some more aerodynamic improvements including a modified front wing. Nevertheless I am realistic and think it is going to be harder for us in the race, but our goals are points.
Robert Kubica: It was a good qualifying as we have both cars in the top ten. We struggled with the set up this morning and had understeer, but suddenly in qualifying it became oversteer. It went from one side to the other and unfortunately the car was really difficult to drive. However, I managed pretty well to push on one lap and I shall see what happens tomorrow. The conditions are changing and we should have more rubber on the track, which should help to make the rear more stable.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): That was the best qualifying result our young team has achieved so far. Tomorrow we presume we will start from fifth and eighth, which is an excellent position to be in for the race. In all three sections of qualifying Nick's performance was very strong, and Robert, in only his second qualifying, did an impressive job.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): It was a very good and exciting qualifying. The result is confirmation of the ability of both drivers and the quality of the car set up. Istanbul Park is a very challenging track on which we have to find the best compromise for our set-up, and the good work Sebastian Vettel did on his debut as a Friday driver contributed to this. We are ready for high temperatures during the race so we should be well prepeared. We are very much looking forward to starting from these promising positions.
To check out our Istanbul qualifying gallery, click here