2008 Formula One Thread

[mika]

Canadian GP - Friday Practice

Who stuck a Loonie in BMW and told them to go racing on Friday?

BMW has had a Teutonic approach to race weekends. Friday was spent working out the travel kinks in the gear and working on set ups. If there was a flash of speed it was a result of good German work ethic not a flash of posturing for the cameras, press and the competition. That is until this Friday.

Robert Kubica is clearly not suffering from flash backs.

Last year he demonstrated the strength of the BMW Sauber tub as his car exploded into pieces sending him to hospital and giving Sebastien Vettle a chance to run as the BMW number two driver the following race.

Despite the workman like comments in the following piece someone stuck a Loonie in him and he went racing on Friday. The first practice session found him very much in the hunt for the session P1 time. The second session started in normal 2008 season fashion for BMW then with less than a half hour left things changed.

Alonso made way for everyone else as he parked his Renault in the wall giving the mechanics a front end to work on replacing in their spare time. Massa made room when he suffered ÔÇÿhydraulicÔÇÖ problems. Fuel is a fluid and when you donÔÇÖt have any in the lines I suppose it could be described as a hydraulic problem. When the safety car cleared and the yellow lights went out Kubica took advantage of the room. He started ticking off fast sector times, particularly in sector 1. Then boom a fast lap. Hamilton responded and the race was off. Breaking the season practice format Kubica ticked off various fastest sector times and then set a blistering fast lap. It took Hamilton more than three laps after Kubica pulled into the pits to do a practice pit stop before the Brit and his McLaren would lock up the Session P1 time.

Heidfeld had his moments also, but not as many. He never seems satisfied with the setup of the car and can not find the grip in the tires to get more than a fast sector in. None the less he did finish the second session in P6.

With this break out session I have no idea what is in store for qualifying.



BMW Sauber F1 Team - Canadian GP - Practice
06-06-2008 Press Release
Weather: Light rain in the morning, dry in the afternoon, 17-21 ??C Air, 17-23??C Track


Montreal (CA). The BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, came second and sixth respectively on the first day of practice for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Robert Kubica:
BMW Sauber F1.08-03 / BMW P86/8
1st Practice: 2nd, 1:17.809 min / 2nd Practice: 2nd, 1:16.023 min
ÔÇ£We had a very busy afternoon, after losing quite a bit of time in the morning due to the damp track. We ran a very comprehensive programme in the second session, trying a lot of different things on the carÔÇÖs set-up. The grip level is still very low, which makes the car quite nervous. However, we were also able to do the tyre comparison, so we have a good base to start with for tomorrow.ÔÇØ


Nick Heidfeld:
BMW Sauber F1.08-07 / BMW P86/8
1st Practice: 4th, 1:18.182 min / 2nd Practice: 6th, 1:16.589 min
ÔÇ£In the morning session I did one installation lap on wet tyres. Luckily towards the end of the session the track dried out and I was able to do some laps on dry tyres. It was enough to gather information for the afternoon and make some set-up changes. In the second session there was always a yellow flag somewhere when I was on fresh tyres, but we did a lot more running and had no technical problems.ÔÇ£


Willy Rampf (Technical Director):
ÔÇØMontreal is a special track where we have a very high load on the brakes, and run a medium level of downforce for the first time in the season. In addition, we use the softest tyre compound, so the challenge today was to find the right set-up taking into consideration all these aspects. As usual on Friday, we mainly worked on race preparation. We had a very productive day without any technical problems, and I think we got to a good level.ÔÇØ

 

[mika]

Nose Jobs ÔÇô Cosmetic surgery is all the rage at BMW Sauber F1


Launch

Like many a young debutant, the 2008 car was clean and crisp at the launch presentation.


Malaysia

Just two races into the season it gave up the clean cut look for the evil empire with horns and an extra set of wings on the nose and very un-angelic wings behind the driver.


We were promised a new look for Canada.

Canada

Bob the front wings, keep the horns and the un-angelic wings behind the drivers head. I am not certain what was gained for something lost, but then I am just a wind bag not a wind tunnel expert.

 

[mika]

Canadian GP - Qualifying

What did they put in the Canadian water?

It was a very interesting qualifying session for the Canadian GP. Kubica is on the front row in P2 after Hamilton snatched the pole from him, literally after the checkered flag had fallen on the final qualifying session.

A bit of house keeping for those who are going to jump to the chart below:

The grid is provisional. Bourdais will receive a 5 spot penalty for repairs to his car after Friday’s practice crash. Webber made it into Q3 but could not run in that session due to a shunt at the end of Q2. He may be given a penalty in relation to this. Then there is the unknown fussiness that F1 is known for that can cause other changes.

Let’s start at the last minute of the Q3. Hamilton looked to be the pole winner as the last flying laps began. Raikkonen started his final lap with Kubica hot on his tail and a bit more than a minute left in the last qualifying session. They charged around the track. The Ferrari took the P1 from Hamilton, but only briefly. Kubica flew over the finish line and grabbed P1 from Ferrari and then the checkered flag dropped on the session.

I was debating quickly posting on the forum the news of the second pole for Kubica or starting this writing up. My decision was made when I realized that Hamilton had crossed the start /finish line before the end of the session for his last flyer. Even though the checkered flag had dropped on the session this lap would count. Hamilton’s last lap may not have been a pretty one, he bounced off curbs in strange places and almost became upset at one point, but it was a fast one taking P1 after the checkered flag.

BMW’s strategy in all of the qualifying sessions was nerve racking. Yesterday’s break with the normal Teutonic workman approach was abandoned once again, this time for cliff hanger strategy.

Keep in mind that if you watch F1 on speed you are not seeing it in real time. For qualifying there is a delay of several minutes. I fire up live timing on the Formula1.com site and watch the lap chart and commentary and have Speed on the TV as background noise. I settled in and began taking notes.

Everyone was out at the start of Q1 except BMW and one or two others. This is not unusual. I checked out the Ferrari’s and McLaren’s as they diced, then followed Alonso to see what he had in store for qualifying. Then I realized we were past the halfway point of Q1 and both BMW’s had yet to turn a wheel. What was up? With approximately 7 minutes left in Q1 Kubica was first out with Heidfeld following shortly. The Pol was in 5th position after his first lap while the German could only muster 15th which meant he was in danger of not making it out of Q1! As the session wound down Heidfeld was able to make it to P10 and both BMW cars made it safely into Q2.

Q2 is normally the fastest session of the three. This time the track seemed to be going away as the various sessions progressed and many of the times in Q2 reflect that. BMW elected to stay in the pits once again as the other teams were out on the track as the session opened. Why. If the track was going away why take the chance that the fast lap for the first ten advancing positions of this session would be set on the first laps. Based on Q1 Kubica could rip a fast lap at the start but Heidfeld needed to work at it. Keep in mind it was at the very end of Q1 he set a time to advance to Q2.

With approximately 7 minutes left in the session Heidfeld was out and could only do a lap that would place him in P11 and not advancing to Q3. With 6 minutes left Kubica was on the track and in P4 after his first flying lap but Heidfeld was languishing in P11.

The last minute of the session was big for three drivers. Mark Weber made it into Q3 but brushed the wall and would not be able to run in the session. In the last minute of the second session Heidfeld moved up and into Q3 leaving P11 open for the gray beard of F1, Reubens Barrichello.

The fire works of Q3 were wonderful. The grandstands were full and the fans were well rewarded for coming out for Canadian GP qualifying. Again BMW sat out the first half of the qualifying session before entering the fray. I don’t understand.

I need to revisit the rules. Q3 is a slow session because the runners come out in race trim. BMW coming out late must mean they are starting with a lighter load and hope to run away from the field in the early laps of the race. At least this is my first theory for the unorthodox qualifying strategy they used today.

What is in the water they are drinking and what do they really have in store for Sundays race?

The race will be on Fox this Sunday. I will post pictures from qualifying this evening. Right now it is darn hot and sticky outside. Perfect conditions for a much needed ride before this breaks out into tornado warnings and storms.

 

[mika]

BMW Sauber F1 Team - Canadian GP ÔÇô Race

06-08-2008 Press Release
Weather: dry, sunny and very windy. Air: 26, Track: 34-36


Montreal (CA). It is done! Non-stop celebrations for the BMW Sauber F1 Team: The maiden win for the young team turned out to be a double victory when Robert Kubica crossed the line ahead of his team mate, Nick Heidfeld, at the Canadian Grand Prix. Kubica now leads the driversÔÇÖ championship. In the constructorsÔÇÖ standings the BMW Sauber F1 Team is second, three points behind Ferrari.


Robert Kubica: 1st
BMW Sauber F1.08-03 / BMW P86/8
Fastest Lap: 1:17.539 min on lap 47 (4th fastest overall)
ÔÇ£IÔÇÖm very happy at having won the first race for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. IÔÇÖm also happy for Poland and all my fans. It was a very difficult race for me. I started on the dirty side of the track and Kimi Raikkonen was nearly able to pass me, but I just managed to keep him behind. The timing of the Safety Car was unlucky for me, because I wanted to pit, but then the yellow light went on just about three seconds too early, so I had to continue. When the pitlane was open, almost everybody pitted together. I stopped at the exit because the light was still red. Kimi stopped beside me, and then I heard the noise when Hamilton crashed into his car. I have to be grateful to Lewis as he chose Kimi and not myself. After this pit stop I was stuck behind the one-stoppers and lost a lot of time. Timo Glock was the last one of them to stop, and only then could I push. I had just eight laps to increase the gap to 21 seconds, which was a huge challenge. I finally managed to get a 24 second lead, which meant I was able to stay ahead of Nick. From this moment on I took it a bit easier, but even then itÔÇÖs very easy to make a mistake, particularly because of the tarmac that was destroyed in some places. But it all worked out and IÔÇÖm just happy!ÔÇØ


Nick Heidfeld: 2nd
BMW Sauber F1.08-05 / BMW P86/8
Fastest Lap: 1:17.430 min on lap 25 (2nd fastest overall)
ÔÇ£Congratulations to Robert for winning this race, which he really deserved! I made a poor start and lost a position to Rubens Barrichello. Fortunately I was able to pass him, and from this moment on I was one of the fastest cars on the track. I stayed out when most of the other cars pitted because I was on a long stint. I was pushing very hard at that stage. We then decided to switch to a one stop strategy, with a very high fuel load and with the soft option tyres which was a challenge. However, I was able to keep Fernando Alonso behind me. After his second pit stop Robert stayed ahead so I secured second place. Finishing second after starting from eighth is a great result, especially considering the difficult time I have had recently. Thanks a lot to the guys in Hinwil, who built me a new chassis after the accident I had with Alonso in Monaco!ÔÇØ


Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
ÔÇ£It is fantastic, I am overwhelmed. It is difficult to find the right words. Today just everything worked well. We hoped for another podium here in Montreal, but would not have dreamed to get a one-two victory. Congratulations to Robert and Nick and to the entire team at home in Munich and Hinwil. Today we achieved a milestone. Both drivers worked with no errors and the strategies paid off. I think we will have to celebrate a lot today.ÔÇØ


Willy Rampf (Technical Director):
ÔÇ£What a day! I just canÔÇÖt put my feelings into words after that race. Both drivers and the entire crew did a perfect job today. Robert had lost time when he was stuck behind slower cars after the Safety Car period, but in a fantastic sprint he made up for it and secured himself the race win. For Nick today was ideal. We shouldnÔÇÖt forget he started eighth. At certain times in the race he was the fastest man on track. When we switched him to a one-stop strategy we took pretty much of a risk, especially with regards to the tyres because Nick had to drive with the softer option for a very long time. Today everything paid off ÔÇô decisions on the day as well as all the work done over the last two and half years.ÔÇØ


Facts and figures.

At the Canadian Grand Prix on 8th June 2008, Robert Kubica claimed the BMW Sauber F1 TeamÔÇÖs maiden victory ahead of his team mate Nick Heidfeld.

It was the 42nd Grand Prix for the team.

Prior to this win, the BMW Sauber F1 Team had been on the podium eight times: at the 2006 Hungarian GP (Nick Heidfeld/3rd place), 2006 Italian GP (Robert Kubica/3rd place), 2007 Canadian GP (Heidfeld/2nd place), 2007 Hungarian GP (Heidfeld/3rd place), 2008 Australian GP (Heidfeld/2nd place), 2008 Malaysian GP (Kubica/2nd place), 2008 Bahrain GP (Kubica/3rd place), 2008 Monaco GP (Kubica/2nd place)..

In the years before BMW bought it (1993-2005), the Sauber TeamÔÇÖs highest race finish was third (six times).

The first Formula One win by a BMW engine was on 13th June 1982 (Nelson Piquet, Brabham BMW, Canada).

The last Formula One win to date by a BMW engine was on 24th October 2004 (Juan Pablo Montoya, BMW WilliamsF1 Team, Brazil).

With Brabham, BMW claimed eight wins in the years 1982 to 1985. The final victory with the legendary turbo unit was in 1986 with Benetton. During the partnership with WilliamsF1 (2000 to 2005) the tally was ten wins.

1983 saw Nelson Piquet win the Formula One DriversÔÇÖ Championship (Brabham BMW). In total BMW had recorded 19 Grand Prix wins and 33 pole positions before the BMW Sauber F1 Team was founded.


Landmarks.

16th/17th January 2006: The BMW Sauber F1 Team appears in public for the first time in Valencia. The BMW Sauber F1.06 has its first outing.

12th March 2006: The BMW Sauber F1 Team competes in its first GP in Bahrain.

19th March 2006: The team picks up its first World Championship points in the second race when Jacques Villeneuve finishes seventh in Malaysia.

2nd April 2006: In the third GP both drivers make it into the points; Heidfeld finishes fourth and Villeneuve sixth in Australia.

6th August 2006: Heidfeld secures the first podium place in the teamÔÇÖs 13th World Championship race. Kubica has his debut Formula One race in Budapest.

10th September 2006: Kubica claims the teamÔÇÖs second trophy after finishing third in Monza.

October 2006: The Hinwil wind tunnel is operating in three shifts. A year previously it had been on a single daily shift.

22nd October 2006: The BMW Sauber F1 Team finishes fifth in the ConstructorsÔÇÖ Championship at the end of its maiden year.

16th January 2007: Presentation of the BMW Sauber F1.07 and the BMW Sauber F1 Team in Valencia.

10th June 2007: Nick Heidfeld takes the first runner-up place for the team. Robert Kubica survives a serious accident practically unscathed.

The BMW Sauber F1 Team finishes its second season third overall. In the statistics it even appears in second place (after exclusion of McLaren Mercedes).

The team has moved into its new building in Hinwil. 150 new employers have been taken on board since the end of 2005.

14th January 2008: The BMW Sauber F1.08 is being launched in the ÔÇÿBMW WeltÔÇÖ in Munich.

23rd March 2008: Heidfeld scores the first fastest race lap for team.

5th April 2008: Kubica achieved the first pole position for the BMW Sauber F1 Team.

 

[BeemerMike]

Bmw F1 1-2!

 

[cheesewhiz]

BRAVO!!!!!!!

 

[PAGoldsby]

The only complaint I have with Sunday's Canadian GP is the presence of Clothead on the podium. I wish he would retire already...

 

[mika]

I fear you will be disappointed. I would not be surprised that Sunday's podium gave him another year in F1

 

[mika]

BMW Sauber F1 Team - France GP - Preview
06-13-2008 Press Release
20th ÔÇô 22nd June 2008
8th of 18 World Championship races


Preview.

Munich/Hinwil, 13th June 2008. From urban prowl to country jaunt. After celebrating its maiden Formula One victory in the buzzing city of Montreal, the BMW Sauber F1 Team immersed itself immediately in preparations for the French Grand Prix in the rural backwater of Magny-Cours. Robert Kubica, fresh from a hugely popular victory in the Canadian GP, and Nick Heidfeld, who followed his team-mate home in majestic fashion to take second place in Montreal, are aiming to record a maximum return once again. Kubica arrives at the Circuit de Nevers leading the driversÔÇÖ standings for the first time in his short 29-race Formula One career. Meanwhile, the Canadian one-two has taken the BMW Sauber F1 Team into second place in the ConstructorsÔÇÖ Championship, just three points behind leaders Ferrari.

Nick Heidfeld:
ÔÇ£I like the Magny-Cours track and also the rural surroundings. IÔÇÖm lucky enough to spend the GP weekend here each year in a small moated castle. There are only a handful of rooms, which donÔÇÖt come with a TV, radio or other luxuries but do have three-metre-thick walls. Among the distinguishing characteristics of the circuit are its extremely even surface, several blind corners and two high-speed chicanes. Turn 2 stands out ÔÇô an extremely long and fast right-hander which leads you through a hollow and then sends you sharply uphill on the way out. The circuit has been modified in some areas, and the final chicane does not fit in so harmoniously with the rest of the track. It has very high kerbs, which you have to ride ÔÇô and this often produces spectacular shots of cars on two wheels.ÔÇØ

Robert Kubica:
ÔÇ£For many people Magny-Cours is a boring place, but I like the track quite a lot. This is the place where I came back last year after my accident. ItÔÇÖs an interesting track because it has all kinds of corners ÔÇô high-speed, low-speed, high-speed chicanes, a hairpin and heavy braking. So IÔÇÖm looking forward to the race and I hope that I can do as well as possible here, as I have done in most of the grands prix since the beginning of the season. I hope we will again have some improvements on the car that will help us to close the gap to Ferrari and McLaren. My goal is to score as many points as possible and to still be in a strong position after the race.ÔÇØ

Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director:
ÔÇ£We may have had a party to celebrate the one-two in Montreal, but this did not impinge on our preparations for the French Grand Prix. As we have up to now, we will focus on the next race and are aiming to put in another strong performance at Magny-Cours.

ÔÇ£The atmosphere in Monaco and Montreal is one of the highlights of the season, but personally I also greatly appreciate the rural surroundings of the Circuit de Nevers, as here it is all about the sport. The circuit is very demanding, and the travellersÔÇÖ community atmosphere in the paddock has its own particular charm. I will never forget the moment back in 2001 when we recorded BMWÔÇÖs first pole position since making its return to Formula One.ÔÇØ


Willy Rampf, Technical Director:
ÔÇ£The Circuit de Nevers offers an interesting mixture of slow sections, which demand a high level of grip, and fast S-shaped sectors, in which good car stability plays a significant role. The Adelaide hairpin at the end of the long straight is the perfect place for overtaking, as the circuit is very wide here and there is a generous run-off area. The track has an extremely flat surface, which the teams take into account with car set-up ÔÇô the cars run low ground clearance here. At the same time, it is important that the drivers can also be aggressive through the chicane before the start/finish straight, where the kerbs are very high.

ÔÇ£Our one-two in Canada gave a huge motivation boost to the whole team, of course, and we will be pulling out all the stops to defend RobertÔÇÖs lead in the World Championship standings.ÔÇØ

Facts and figures:

Circuit/Date Circuit de Nevers/22nd June 2008
Start time (local/UTC) 14.00 hrs/12.00 hrs
Lap/Race distance 4.411 km/308.586 km (70 laps)
Corners 9 right-hand and 8 left-hand corners
Winner
2007 Kimi R?ñikk?Ânen, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro,
1hr 30:54.200 min
Pole position
2007 Felipe Massa, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro,
1:15.034 min
Fastest lap
2007 Felipe Massa, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro,
1:16.099 min
Data 2007 (race):
Full-throttle percentage: 64%
Top speed: 301 km/h
Longest stretch at full throttle: 12 sec / 930 m
Gear changes per lap: 46
Tyre wear: medium to low
Brake wear: medium
Downforce level: high


Driver Nick Heidfeld Robert Kubica
Date of birth 10.05.1977 07.12.1984
Place of birth M?Ânchengladbach/Germany Krakow/Poland
Nationality German Polish
Residence St?ñfa, Switzerland Monaco
Marital status
Partner Patricia Papen,
daughter Juni, son Joda Single
Height 1.67 m 1.84 m
Weight 61 kg 69 kg
F1 debut 2000, Melbourne 2006, Budapest
GP starts 141 29
Pole positions 1 1
Wins - 1
Podium places 9 5
Fastest laps 1 -
Best placing 5th (2007) 6th (2007)
Total points 168 87
Points 2008 28 (5th place) 42 (1st place)


BMW Sauber F1 Team
Founded 01.01.2006
Locations Munich (DE) and Hinwil (CH)
F1 debut 2006, Melbourne
GP starts 42
Pole positions 1
Wins 1
Podium places 9 (4 x 3rd / 4 x 2nd / 1 x 1st)
Fastest laps 1
World Championship placings 5th (2006), 36 points
2nd (2007), 101 points
2nd (2008), 70 points after 7 GPs


Season 2008:
Nick Heidfeld Robert Kubica
Qualifying Race Points Qualifying Race Points
Australian GP 5th 2nd 8 2nd DNF -
Malaysian GP 7th (grid 5) 6th 3 6th (grid 4) 2nd 8
Bahrain GP 6th 4th 5 1st 3rd 6
Spanish GP 9th 9th - 4th 4th 5
Turkish GP 9th 5th 4 5th 4th 5
Monaco GP 13th (grid 12) 14th - 5th 2nd 8
Canadian GP 8th 2nd 8 2nd 1st 10



History and background:

The first official Formula One French Grand Prix was held in the Champagne city of Reims in 1950. The race has been run at the Paul Ricard track 14 times, in Reims 11 times, five times each in Dijon and Rouen, four times in Clermont-Ferrand and once in Le Mans. 2008 sees Magny-Cours hosting its 18th French Grand Prix, the 58th edition of the race.

Magny-Cours is situated in western Burgundy about halfway between Paris and Lyons. The nearby town of Nevers has a small airport used by many of the teams arriving on charter flights or in private aircraft.

1959 saw the start of construction work on the race track here. It opened in 1961 and had its first redesign ten years later. Formula One made the switch from Le Castellet to Magny-Cours in 1991, a move backed by the French government as a way of bolstering the regionÔÇÖs underdeveloped economy.

 

[PAGoldsby]

I fear you will be disappointed. I would not be surprised that Sunday's podium gave him another year in F1

He really needs to join Ralf somewhere, so they can tell each other stories about how great they were.

 

[mika]

Friday Practice

BMW Sauber F1 Team - French GP - Free Practice
06-20-2008 Press Release
Weather: Dry, partly cloudy, 18-23 ??C Air, 23-43??C Track


Magny-Cours (FR). In the first two practice sessions for the French Grand Prix the BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, came fifth and sixth and ninth and eighth respectively.

Robert Kubica:
BMW Sauber F1.08-03 / BMW P86/8
1st Practice: 5th, 1:16.377 min / 2nd Practice: 6th, 1:16.317 min
ÔÇ£This was a quite difficult Friday and we lost some running time in the second practice session due to technical problems. The balance of the car was a bit strange and, therefore, it was quite difficult to drive. We now have to analyse the data and see what we can do for tomorrow.ÔÇØ

Nick Heidfeld:
BMW Sauber F1.08-07 / BMW P86/8
1st Practice: 9th, 1:16.870 min / 2nd Practice: 8th, 1:16.458 min
ÔÇ£It is too early to say how we will perform here, but today my free practice was trouble free. We did everything that is on the usual Friday programme, including the tyre comparison and evaluation. At the very end of the second session the car bottomed out heavily at the exit of turn three after I ran over the kerbs. I could feel something come loose and went back to the pits one or two minutes before the flag.ÔÇØ

Willy Rampf (Technical Director):
ÔÇ£Today we completed the usual race preparation and concentrated mainly on the tyre comparison. In addition, we made some set-up changes, and we will now analyse all the data we gathered. At the beginning of the second session RobertÔÇÖs car had a misfire which we fixed by changing an electronic component. This cost us some time, but we were still able to complete our programme. Although Robert is not yet happy with the set-up, I think we have a good basis for the rest of the weekend.ÔÇØ

Note: All the wings are back as part of the aero kit.

 

[mika]

He really needs to join Ralf somewhere, so they can tell each other stories about how great they were.

In interviews this week he has made vague refrences to having plans and that this may be his last season. You may well get your wish. There is so much fresh talent out there.

 

[PAGoldsby]

Note: All the wings are back as part of the aero kit.

Looks to be about the same package as Monaco. I'd like to see what the Monaco vs. Magny Cours rear diffusers look like. Also, I'm going to try to make a visual comparison of rear tire camber between the two races. Magny Cours setup might end up being closer to Turkey than anything else.

 

[mika]

I will see what I can come up with over the weekend's pictures

 

[PAGoldsby]

Do you have any photos of the side of the rear wing this weekend? The four vents look different than what I remember. In the two head-on shots above, the vents look basically straight and horizontal. I recall them being upswept earlier in the season. In fact, I think there were only 3 vents at Spain (or maybe Bahrain?).

PhilbeRT

 

[mika]

Here is a link to my F1 gallery.

There are not as many pictures as the season goes on of certain elements of the car. Everyone digs into the press pictures. The pictures for Canada were sparse for example. Limited Friday pictures, no qualifying pictures and a lot of Heidfeld on Sunday. As the season has gone on they have become more coy in what the share.

 

[mika]

French GP Qualifying

They may speak French in Canada, but this is not the Canadian GP it is the French GP and BMW put racing boots of clay on for qualifying.

Heidfeld may well join David Coulthard in perusing other racing opportunities as he fails to get out of Q2. Hamilton finished third in qualifying behind both Ferraris but will start 13th due a 10 position penalty for his pit lane crash in Canada.

Here are the qualifying times and the provisional grid including the known penalties.

 

[mika]

BMW Sauber F1 Team - French GP - Qualifying
06-21-2008 Press Release
Weather: sunny and dry, 23-27??C Air, 33-45??C Track

Magny-Cours (FR). The BMW Sauber F1 Team had to cope with a rather disappointing qualifying result in Magny-Cours. Nick Heidfeld came 12th, while his team mate, Robert Kubica, just made it into the top ten of qualifying and in the end was seventh.

Robert Kubica:
BMW Sauber F1.08-03 / BMW P86/8
Qualifying 7th, 1:17.037 min (3rd Practice: 14th, 1:16.617 min)
ÔÇ£It looks like we are having a difficult weekend. After yesterdayÔÇÖs free practice sessions I was expecting us to struggle. The balance of the car is not how I want it to be and my car has a poor overall grip. The gap to the top teams seems to have stayed the same, and at the same time the other teams obviously have made a big step forward. My goal now is to score as many points as possible in tomorrowÔÇÖs race, which certainly will not be easy.ÔÇØ

Nick Heidfeld:
BMW Sauber F1.08-07 / BMW P86/8
Qualifying 12th, 1:15.786 min (3rd Practice: 18th, 1:16.687 min)
ÔÇ£The circuit here in Magny-Cours is completely different to the one in Montreal, and right from the beginning of the weekend here we were not as good as we have been recently. But still we were hoping for a better qualifying. IÔÇÖm 12th and Robert just made it into the top ten of qualifying ÔÇô this is, of course, not what we at the BMW Sauber F1 Team expect from ourselves. If I just look at my situation I can see significant progress. I was much closer to getting the best out of the car. There were just hundreds of a second between RobertÔÇÖs and my lap times. I will be starting from 11th because Lewis Hamilton has to move back, and I can choose my fuel strategy for the race. Although even the best strategy doesnÔÇÖt improve the pace, we want to have a good race tomorrow.ÔÇØ

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
ÔÇ£Of course we are not happy with the qualifying result. However, we saw in the free practice sessions our car is not as quick as usual. Nick was unlucky today. Although being just six hundreds of a second slower than Robert, he missed the top ten qualifying. Also RobertÔÇÖs qualifying did not run smoothly. We changed from harder to softer tyre compounds and then back to the harder ones. In the end, we just missed the second row. We will start the race from sixth and 11th. We will see after the first pit stops what we can achieve from these positions.ÔÇØ

Willy Rampf (Technical Director):
ÔÇ£This was a difficult qualifying that turned out to be a game of poker with the tyres. We were switching back and forth between the two compounds, but weren't really happy with either. The Option had more grip but less stability than the Prime. We obviously expected a better result. Nick was very close to Robert in Q2 but was just unlucky not to make it to Q3.ÔÇØ

 

[mika]

F-1 photo gallery

BMW Sauber F1 Team - French GP - Race
06-22-2008 Press Release
Weather: dry track, clouds and a few rain drops. Air: 23-25??C, Track: 24-29??C


Magny-Cours (FR). BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Robert Kubica scored four points by finishing fifth in the French Grand Prix and had to hand over the lead in the driversÔÇÖ championship to race winner Felipe Massa (Ferrari). Nick Heidfeld didnÔÇÖt make it into the points this time as he came 13th in Magny-Cours. In the constructorsÔÇÖ championship the BMW Sauber F1 Team remains second.


Robert Kubica: 5th
BMW Sauber F1.08-03 / BMW P86/8
Fastest Lap: 1:17.172 min on lap 16 (4th fastest overall)
ÔÇ£We didnÔÇÖt score as many points as we wanted to here in Magny-Cours. Over the whole weekend we tried to minimize the problems we had, and we knew the race would be decided on the first lap. At the start I tried to overtake Jarno Trulli, but did not manage it. I tried again in turn 5 on the outside, but it did not work out. In the end I have to say I am pretty happy. I finished fifth, only 2 seconds away from the podium. We now have to analyse what happened here and see how we can improve for the next race.ÔÇØ


Nick Heidfeld: 13th
BMW Sauber F1.08-05 / BMW P86/8
Fastest Lap: 1:17.716 min on lap 46 (9th fastest overall)
ÔÇ£Having finished 13th is certainly a disappointing result. I lost two positions right at the start and could not get them back. Now we will concentrate on next weekÔÇÖs test in Silverstone and the forthcoming race there.ÔÇØ


Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
ÔÇ£The race reflected yesterdayÔÇÖs Qualifying. Over the entire weekend here our package did not work perfectly. Robert was stuck in traffic on his second stint and, therefore, lost his chance of a podium finish. Nick lost two positions at the start. Neither driver ever had a realistic chance to attack. We had no technical problems, and the result is four points for our team. From now on we will prepare for the Silverstone race.ÔÇØ


Willy Rampf (Technical Director):
ÔÇ£When deciding on the race strategy, we focused on Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso. Our goal was to put Robert into a position to finish on the podium. However, in the second stint it was clear this would not work. He got stuck behind Trulli, who had a higher fuel load and was able to stay out longer than him. At the same time, Heikki Kovalainen was able to close the gap to Robert and pass him during his second pit stop. Overall, our pace was not good enough during this weekend. However, we were able to defend second in the Constructors' Championship.ÔÇØ


Test in Silverstone: 24th and 25th July Kubica, 26th July Heidfeld

 

[PAGoldsby]

I don't think Nick Heidfeld needs to pack for Singapore, Japan, China and Brazil. He will be afforded the luxury of staying at home with his scraggly beard, watching the season finale on TV. He will not be missed.