Formula 1 news

Cocktail of issues for Kubica

Robert Kubica had a dramatic day at Silverstone on Friday, for much of which the Pole out of his BMW F1.09 due to technical gremlins. After finishing last in the morning session due to suffering from, quite literally, a series of unfortunate events, the Pole recovered well to post a very respectable eleventh quickest lap time later in the day.

Kubica was very grateful for his mechanics' hard work

With 16 laps to his name, Robert completed the least of any driver in the first one and a half hour session in England. "In the morning I had electrical problems on the car which prevented me from doing one single proper outing," he began to explain. "Then, in the early stages of the second free practice, the engine lost power."

After doubting whether a return to the track would even be possible on Friday, Kubica was grateful for his team's huge engine change effort: "A big thank you to the mechanics, who did a fantastic job changing it in a very short time! That meant that at least I had the chance to do two problem-free outings in the afternoon and some setup work."

Nick Heidfeld is pleased with BMW's new aerodynamic parts

Team-mate Nick Heidfeld's day, on the other hand, was a more casual affair on the way to 13th and 15th places in each of the practice periods, whilst making use of new components for the first time. "For me, it was a rather normal Friday," said Nick. "I did the tyre comparison and setup work, as planned. The track was very dusty - dirtier than normal - and therefore improved quite quickly during the session; that makes it difficult to make a judgement on the changes and on the new front wing, but I think it is better and gives us more downforce."

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