BMW Sauber F1 Team - 09 -Turkish Grand Prix

BMW Sauber F1 Team - Turkish Grand Prix - Preview

Munich/Hinwil, 29th May 2009. The work continues and there’s no time for licking our wounds. After the disappointing result in Monaco, the BMW Sauber F1 Team will be turning up on the grid for the Turkish Grand Prix with a batch of further developments for the F1.09.

An initial aero update sparked a forward trend at the fifth Grand Prix in Spain, but didn’t bear fruit under the specific demands of the Monaco circuit. Meanwhile, the next package of innovations is in place for World Championship race number seven on the modern high- speed track outside the gates of Istanbul. Here the F1.09 will feature a double diffuser for the first time.

Robert Kubica:
“The track in Istanbul is totally different to Monaco. It is a very modern race track with a couple of high-speed corners. The most famous high-speed corner there is the left-hander turn 8. Of course, we hope to perform better in Istanbul than in Monaco.”

Nick Heidfeld:
“I hope our dismal performance in Monaco proves to be a glitch and that it was down to that particular circuit being unsuitable for our car. After all, there were signs of a forward trend at the previous race in Spain, and the next update is ready for Istanbul – also including a double diffuser.

“The Istanbul circuit has some extremely good sections, particularly turn 8, of course, which is quite a challenge – very long, fast and with several apexes. For the long straight with the right-hand kink you need a good top speed.

“It’s a vast city, very international and fascinating. I’ll be there on Wednesday already for an event with our partner Intel. I’m staying at a hotel on the European side again and will take a motor scooter to carve my way through the congestion over the bridge to Asia.”

Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director:
“Ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix our results are quite sobering. Nobody in the team expected the season to pan out as it has so far. After taking a forward step in Spain, we were clearly off the pace in Monaco. To regain our competitiveness we will have to ramp up our development speed significantly. In Istanbul we will have the next step of our development ready and will be using a multistage diffuser for the first time.

“After three successful years, this phase is our first setback. We can deal with it. After all, it was the same team in Munich and Hinwil that ensured our progressive advancement since the BMW Sauber F1 Team was founded. We are all determined to get ourselves back among the front runners again.”

Willy Rampf, Head of Engineering:
“We’ll be lining up in Turkey with a new development package, which also features a double diffuser. Since the F1.09 concept was not designed for this, we had to make a number of aerodynamic adjustments. There are modifications to the front wings, side bargeboards, rim shields and the rear part of the engine cover. We expect this to take us a step forward, although we know that our rivals are not standing still.

“After the race in Monte Carlo we also had an in-depth look at the tyre problems. For the race in Turkey, Bridgestone is providing the soft and hard compounds, which are hugely different. The harder of the two compounds in particular will pose a challenge for the engineers.

“The Istanbul Park circuit is run in an anti-clockwise direction and it’s as varied as it gets. It has slow sections where good traction is crucial, but there are also fast parts such as the spectacular turn 8 with its four sections, which has to be taken in a single line at around 250 km/h. Overall, the track makes stringent demands on the car’s balance. After the disappointing outcome in Monte Carlo, we hope to come away with a positive result here.”


History and background:
Formula One added the Turkish Grand Prix to the calendar in 2005. Istanbul Park is one of the circuits designed by Aachen-based architect Hermann Tilke. The highly modern facility was built outside the town on the Asian side of the Bosphorus.

Istanbul straddles the southern Bosphorus, by which it is divided into a European part to the west and an Asian part to the east. The Golden Horn, a westward-running inlet of the Bosphorus, divides the European part into a southern peninsula flanked by the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn, and home to historic Istanbul, and the northern city districts that border on historic Galata.

The heart of what was formerly Constantinople is rich in sacred architecture. The city limits bound an area of 1,538.77 square kilometres, while the metropolitan region of Istanbul covers 5,220 square kilometres. The population of Istanbul has crossed the ten million threshold.

BMW Sauber F1 Team - Turkish Grand Prix - Qualifying

Weather: dry and sunny, 26-30°C Air, 40-47°C Track

Istanbul (TR). Qualifying for the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul saw an obviously improved performance from the BMW Sauber F1 Team. Tenth and 11th on the grid for Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld is not a reason to celebrate, but nevertheless motivating as it is a move in the right direction.


Robert Kubica:
BMW Sauber F1.09-03 / BMW P86/9
Qualifying 10th, 1:29.357 min in Q3 (3rd Free Practice: 5th, 1:28.320 min)
“Starting from P10 is definitely better than starting from P18 the way I did in Monaco. However, we still lack a bit of pace compared to the top cars. The track clearly suits our car better than the Monaco track did. However, we really have to fight tomorrow. Although the gap to the lead cars is quite close, there are a lot of cars between us and the front row. It will be difficult.”

Nick Heidfeld:
BMW Sauber F1.09-06 / BMW P86/9
Qualifying 11th, 1:27.521 min in Q2 (3rd Free Practice: 14th, 1:28.715 min)
“I have mixed feelings about today’s qualifying. On one hand it is annoying to miss the top ten qualifying by such a margin, but on the other I’m happy to see the progress we’ve made. The car was quick enough for Q3. I was seventh overall before my final outing in Q2 but then I was stuck in traffic on the last sector of my out lap. Given how the 2009 tyres are, this is enough to prevent them from heating up properly and consequently ruin your flying lap. Our new aero package with the double diffuser is obviously a step forward. This is not only compared to Monaco, but also to Barcelona where I scored two points after starting 13th on the grid.”

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
“We produced a solid performance in today’s qualifying. Obviously, our goal was, to get both cars into Q3, which didn’t quite work out. Today, once again, the whole field was very close. Nick missed Q3 by just five hundreds of a second, and Robert was finally tenth. What this means in terms of the race we will only see once we know the competitors’ strategy. On the positive side, in Q2, when all the drivers were running in the same conditions, the gap to the front runners was only just 0.4 of a second. This proves the new aero package has had a positive effect.”

Willy Rampf (Head of Engineering):
“Today‘s result confirms we have made a step in the right direction. However, if we want to fight for the top positions we have to bring updates of the same magnitude to the next races. Yesterday we were able to find a basic set-up for the new aero package, which was also important for the ongoing development of the car. For Robert and Nick it will not be easy to score points tomorrow.”

Edited by Melvyn Pettit - 06 Jun 2009 at 2:48pm