Formula One news

Heidfeld splits McLaren and Ferrari

For the third time this season Nick Heidfeld has claimed third on the grid for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. His team mate, Robert Kubica, will be starting from seventh for tomorrow's Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.

"I am happy about P3, especially as up to now the whole weekend has not been easy," said Heidfeld. "The tyre choice was very hard, but we were not the only ones facing that challenge. Yesterday was quite ok, but today in the second qualifying session we were not on the pace, and I was only in P6. Apparently, the soft tyres were the reason. In view of this we decided to go for the hard tyre compound for the last fast lap in the third qualifying session. I think with this the race should not be a problem. I would like to thank the entire team for the fantastic work. Third for me means the opportunity for the next podium. This is my goal right now. Generally I consider us as the third force, but Ferrari doesn't seem to be as strong as usual. Felipe Massa starts from a long way down the grid." 

Robert Kubica commented, "The day was not very good. The car is not accelerating how it should. We lose too much time with every single upshift. We now have to analyse the data and see what we can do for tomorrow, which will be difficult as the car is in Parc Fermé right now. Seventh was the best I could do under these conditions." 

Team boss Mario Theissen added, "The conditions for qualifying were demanding. The two factors that were simply not constant were both the strong and gusty wind and the changing tyre performance. For the first time we decided to go for the hard tyre compound in the third qualifying session, as we expected them to be more stable. Taking these conditions into account, third for Nick is a fantastic result, and seventh for Robert is fine as well. Unfortunately a software problem prevented a better result."

more news

• 04 Sep.
  • Massa eyes up vital six final races
  • Raikkonen hopes for dry weekend
  • Photos: Thursday at Spa-Francorchamps
  • Coulthard: The engines make the difference
• 03 Sep.
  • Bridgestone going hard on Spa
  • Former Albers manager teams up with Doornbos
  • Massa: Beating Raikkonen will be difficult at Spa
  • Belgian Grand Prix technical preview
• 02 Sep.
  • Raikkonen: I need a good result at Spa
  • Button: Spa is just great!
  • Brawn hopes for mixed weather conditions
  • Toro Rosso invites Sato and Buemi for test
  • Glock hoping to score more points
  • Renault not giving up on fourth
  • Piquet determined to score at Spa
• 01 Sep.
  • Ecclestone supports Mosley
  • Trulli expects another strong weekend
  • Alonso determined to bounce back
  • Cregan to leave Toyota at end of season
  • Belgian Grand Prix snap shot
  • Mercedes boss expects tight end to season
• 31 Aug.
  • Alonso pleased with test progress
  • Honda still looking for Monza set up
• 30 Aug.
  • Force India eyes Honda after test progress
  • BMW boss wants both cars in the points
  • Aero updates for McLaren at Spa
  • Heidfeld in determined mood for Spa
• 29 Aug.
  • Hamilton finishes test on top
  • Another accolade for Frank Williams
  • Hamilton relishing Spa challenge
  • Photos: Friday in Monza
  • Former champion Phil Hill passes away
  • Alonso happy with first day at wheel
  • Rosberg hopeful of upward trend
• 28 Aug.
  • Heidfeld on top at Monza
  • Photos: Thursday in Monza
  • Raikkonen to play support role to Massa if needed
  • Renault happy with first day, despite position
  • Weather key to title - Whitmarsh
• 27 Aug.
  • Massa sets pace on first day at Monza

Homepage