Formula One news

BMW happy with Friday pace

After the first day of practice for the Chinese Grand Prix, during which the best times were set in damp conditions, the BMW Sauber F1 Team's test and reserve driver, Sebastian Vettel, was second quickest on his first visit to the state of the art Shanghai track. 

"In the first session I only did an installation lap," said Heidfeld. "In the second session, after the track had been declared wet, I scrubbed a few sets of tyres and towards the end I decided to continue for an extra couple of laps. The conditions were odd as I could see the rain drops on my visor but the grip was still there."

Kubica commented, "It's a new track for me and I did a handful of laps this morning and then the same this afternoon. It seems okay, although we have a bit of work to do on set-up. This morning the track condition was not very good, but it was better in the afternoon despite the rain. We have to see how the track is tomorrow, and perhaps we will make some set-up changes. The track has some nice corners, with the first part difficult, especially corners one and two as you cannot see the apex and they are long corners. Generally it is a low grip track and we are sliding, but it is the same for everybody."

Team boss Mario Theissen added, "As usual on Friday, most of the work load was done by Sebastian. In the morning the car's set-up was not perfect, but after changes there was a big improvement in the afternoon. It was astonishing what times were possible, particularly at the end when the track was wet. For us it was a day with no technical problems."

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