BMW Sauber F1 Team - Hungarian GP - Preview

1st – 3rd August 2008
11th of 18 World Championship races

Munich/Hinwil, 25th July 2008. It’s going to be a tight squeeze in Hungary once again. The Hungaroring on the outskirts of Budapest is a twisty circuit, throwing up a similar challenge to Monaco in terms of demanding maximum downforce and razor-sharp concentration. Overtaking is tricky, and the Grand Prix has frequently panned out as a procession through the dusty Hungarian plain. The rain-sodden event of 2006, by contrast, entered the F1 annals as a nailbiting thriller.

Ahead of the 11th of this season’s 18 races, the BMW Sauber F1 Team remains in second place in the Constructors’ Championship. Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld will be heading for Budapest fuelled with ambition. In the past both have demonstrated how well the track suits them. After Heidfeld relished the attendance of numerous fans in Hockenheim, it is now Kubica’s turn to welcome the hordes of “pilgrims” who will be flocking to the Hungarian capital from nearby Poland.


Nick Heidfeld:
“I’ve always coped very well on the Hungaroring. The track suits me, and in the short history of our team I took a podium place there in 2006 and 2007. In 2006 it was the first podium for our team at the end of an unbelievably wet race. In 2007 I started second and finished third again. I also have a lot of positive memories of the Hungaroring going back to previous occasions. In 1999 I took an early Formula 3000 title there and was able to celebrate. The city is beautiful. I just love the historic buildings and its setting on the river. Budapest has lots of charm, especially when the weather is really summery.

“If it’s dry the circuit gets very dusty particularly at the start of the weekend. Racing there is exhausting because there aren’t any long straights where you can sit back and relax a little bit. I’m looking forward to the Hungarian Grand Prix and hope we will perform as strongly again as we have done in the last two years.”


Robert Kubica:
“For sure we can expect a lot of Polish fans in Budapest. The Hungarian Grand Prix is the closest race to my home country, so in some way it is my home race. The Hungaroring is the track where I had my first Formula One race in 2006. As a driver you always have a special relationship with the track where you had your first Grand Prix. However, it is not for these reasons alone that I like this track. For most of the lap you have some steering angle, which means you rarely get a break, and this is made worse by the fact the straights are very short. The Hungaroring is a difficult track, but then Formula One is about challenges.”


Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director:
“In the last two years, the Hungarian Grand Prix was a very exciting affair for us. In 2006 the weather turned the race into a cliffhanger, and in 2007 an offensive strategy really put us on our mettle but rewarded us with a podium place. For 2008 the goal is to make it onto the Budapest podium for the third consecutive time. Our pledge is to get both cars firmly into the top ten qualifiers and take home another decent points haul from the race.

“The Hungaroring makes huge demands on the cars’ aerodynamics and brakes. At 58 per cent, the full-throttle percentage is at the lower end. However, temperatures could become critical for the powertrain. It’s generally hot in Budapest in August, and the heat tends to build up in the dust bowl of the circuit. Plus the low average speed does its bit to drive cooling systems to the limits.”


Willy Rampf, Technical Director:
“After Monaco, the Hungaroring is the track with the lowest average speed. Especially in the middle section of the track, it’s just one turn after another, and the start-finish straight is relatively short. That calls for maximum downforce. Overtaking is very difficult, and you have to take that into consideration in your race strategy. The track accumulates fresh sand every day, so grip levels are accordingly low, which can lead to understeer. In Hungary we use the softest tyre compounds. When it comes to the car’s set-up, you have to focus primarily on the middle section, which consists of a variety of corner combinations and the very tight final turns before the start-finish straight, which require good traction. The track layout and frequent high air temperatures mean the cars have to drive with maximum cooling.”



Facts and figures:

Circuit/Date: Hungaroring/3rd August 2008
Start time (local/UTC): 14.00 hrs/12.00 hrs
Lap/Race distance: 4.381 km/306.458 km (70 laps)
Corners: 8 right-hand and 6 left-hand corners
Winner 2007: Lewis Hamilton, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, 1 hr 35:52.991 min
Pole position 2007: Lewis Hamilton, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, 1:19.781 min
Fastest lap 2007: Kimi Räikkönen, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, 1:20.047 min

Data 2006 (race):
Full-throttle percentage: 58%
Top speed: 291 km/h
Longest stretch at full throttle: 11 sec / 750 m
Gear changes per lap: 50
Tyre wear: medium to high
Brake wear: high
Downforce level: very high


Nick Heidfeld
Date of birth: 10.05.1977
Place of birth: Mönchengladbach/Germany
Nationality: German
Residence: Stäfa, Switzerland
Marital status: Partner Patricia Papen, daughter Juni, son Joda
Height: 1.67 m
Weight: 61 kg
F1 debut: 2000, Melbourne
GP starts: 144
Pole positions: 1
Wins: -
Podium places: 10
Fastest laps: 2
Best placing: 5th (2007)
Total points: 181
Points 2008: 41 (5th place)


Robert Kubica
Date of birth: 07.12.1984
Place of birth: Krakow/Poland
Nationality: Polish
Residence: Monaco
Marital status: Single
Height: 1.84 m
Weight: 69 kg
F1 debut: 2006, Budapest
GP starts: 32
Pole positions: 1
Wins: 1
Podium places: 5
Fastest laps: -
Best placing: 6th (2007)
Total points: 93
Points 2008: 48 (4th place)


BMW Sauber F1 Team
Founded: 01.01.2006
Locations: Munich (DE) and Hinwil (CH)
F1 debut: 2006, Melbourne
GP starts: 45
Pole positions: 1
Wins: 1
Podium places: 10 (4 x 3rd / 5 x 2nd / 1 x 1st)
Fastest laps: 2
Championship placings:
5th (2006), 36 points
2nd (2007), 101 points
2nd (2008), 89 points after 10 GPs



History and background:
This year sees the 23rd Hungarian GP, all of which have taken place on the Hungaroring. Since its introduction in 1986, the circuit has been repeatedly modified, most recently for the 2003 GP when the course was extended from 3.975 to 4.381 kilometres. The current variant is the longest there has ever been. Even the first track (1986 to 1988) only covered a distance of 4.014 kilometres. The Hungaroring lies approximately 20 minutes’ drive northeast of the city centre.

Budapest is Hungary’s capital, its largest city and the economic and cultural hub of the country. Its population now numbers almost 1.7 million. It was primarily the trade route of the Danube, as well as numerous local hot springs, that accounted for the city’s rise to prosperity. In 1873 the formerly independent cities of Buda, Pest and Óbuda were united. The chain bridge (built 1839-49) linking hilly Buda on the west with the flat terrain of Pest on the eastern bank is as much a trademark of the city as the baroque royal palace on the Buda side.


Schedule for group interviews at the weekend:
Thursday:
13.30-13.50 – Nick Heidfeld – print media
13.50-14.00 – Nick Heidfeld – TV
13.30-13.40 – Robert Kubica – TV
13.40-14.00 – Robert Kubica – print media
14.00-14.10 – Christian Klien – TV
14.10-14.30 – Christian Klien – print media
14.00-14.20 – Marko Asmer – print media
14.20-14.30 – Marko Asmer - TV
15.30-15.35 – Mario Theissen – TV
15.35-16.00 – Mario Theissen – print media
18.00-18.30 – Willy Rampf – by prior arrangement only

Friday:
16.45-16.55 – Nick Heidfeld – TV
16.45-16.55 – Robert Kubica – TV

Saturday:
16.45-16.55 – Nick Heidfeld – TV
16.55-17.15 – Nick Heidfeld – print media
16.45-17.05 – Robert Kubica – print media
17.05-17.15 – Robert Kubica –TV
18.00-18.05 – Mario Theissen – TV
18.05-18.30 – Mario Theissen – print media

Sunday:
Approx. 30 minutes after the end of the race Heidfeld, Kubica, Theissen and Rampf will be on hand in the team’s Hospitality area.

BMW Sauber F1 Team - Hungarian Grand Prix - Qualifying

Weather: dry and sunny, 29-31°C Air, 37-43°C Track

Budapest (HU). BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Robert Kubica qualified fourth in the heat at the Hungaroring in Budapest. Meanwhile for Nick Heidfeld qualifying was a total disappointment. After a promising free practice session in the morning he found several cars in his way when he was on his second fast lap in Q1. He lost so much time behind other cars that he did not even make it into Q2.

Robert Kubica:
BMW Sauber F1.08-05 / BMW P86/8
Qualifying 4th, 1:21.281 min (3rd Practice: 18th, 1:21.975 min)
“I am really happy with the result. This was certainly one of my best qualifying sessions so far this season. I was not expecting to start from fourth as the car has been quite difficult to drive over the entire weekend. We struggled a bit with the balance, but in the end I was able to make the harder tyre compound work very well and here we are. I am now looking forward to the race.”

Nick Heidfeld:
BMW Sauber F1.08-07 / BMW P86/8
Qualifying 16th, 1:21.045 min (from Q1) (3rd Practice: 6th, 1:21.096 min)
“I’m totally disappointed. It looked quite good at the end of yesterday’s practice and also this morning. But on my last lap in Q1 I had four cars in my way. Most of them at least tried to give me room, but it still cost me time. Towards the end of the lap I had one car in front which was on an out lap. He saw me and accelerated. He then overtook Sebastien Bourdais before the last corner, and then Sebastien was right in my way. I was hoping it was so obvious he would be penalised right away and I could still get into Q2.”

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
“It was a very tight battle at the front with marginal time differences. We expected to see McLaren on the front row. Robert did a very good last lap and secured fourth, which means he will be starting in between the two Ferraris. Certainly Nick’s result is disappointing. He complained several times about traffic on his last, and important fast lap and missed getting into Q2. We should be very happy if he scores a point from this grid position.”

Willy Rampf (Technical Director):
“Robert’s performance was faultless, and he got the most out of the car. Starting from fourth is an excellent position. Instead for Nick it didn’t go as expected. He reported traffic on his last lap. For him we are facing a very difficult race tomorrow, because overtaking is almost impossible at the Hungaroring.”

BMW taken aback by lack of pace Sunday, 03 August 2008 17:42 BMW Sauber was taken aback by its below-par showing in the Hungarian Grand Prix, which yielded a solitary world championship point for Robert Kubica. The Pole had qualified a strong fourth but lost a place at the start and slipped farther back into the midfield pack after making an earlier first pit stop than some of the cars around him. Neither Kubica nor the team made any attempt to disguise their disappointment at the F1.08 car’s performance in race conditions. “This was a difficult race,” said Kubica. “We were very slow and I was struggling with the overall grip of the car. “I had massive oversteer and could not really push. “I was trying hard to keep the car on the track. “Anyway, one point is better than nothing.” Nick Heidfeld advanced five places from his grid berth of 15th, but he too was puzzled by the team’s lack of race pace. “My start wasn't perfect but okay. As I had hoped, I was able to overtake three cars on the first lap,” he said. “But later it became more difficult than expected to race with the heavy car. “We went for a one-stop strategy, so my car was almost full of fuel at the start and I also had to take care of the tyres. “I couldn't match the pace of the cars in front of me. “Now we have to analyse today's lack of race pace. Normally this is one of our strengths!” BMW motorsport boss Mario Theissen could shed no light on the drop-off in performance but said the team would be leaving no stone unturned in its quest to find out what went wrong. “We were completely off the pace during the race,” said Theissen. “Neither driver was able to do the lap times we expected after the sessions on Friday and Saturday. It was the same on both tyre compounds. “The reason for that is currently not clear, but we shall analyse everything.”

Source ITV-F1.com