Formula 1

German GP: BMW Sauber Friday practice report

Weather: Light rain and wet track in the morning, dry in the afternoon, 16-23C Air, 16-34C Track Hockenheim (DE). In changing weather conditions BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld finished the second practice session of ...

Published: Jul 19, 2008, 8:43 AM

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Weather: Light rain and wet track in the morning, dry in the afternoon, 16-23C Air, 16-34C Track

Hockenheim (DE). In changing weather conditions BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld finished the second practice session of the German Grand Prix at Hockenheimring on positions 8 and 9. Heidfeld, as usual driving with a special helmet design at the German Grand Prix, also finished the first practice session in the morning without any problems (position 8). Kubica lost control of his car on the partly wet track in lap 8 and hit the barrier. However, the team was able to rebuild the left side of his BMW Sauber F1.08 before the start of the second session.

Robert Kubica:
BMW Sauber F1.08-05 / BMW P86/8
1st Practice: 19th, 1:18.779 min / 2nd Practice: 8th, 1:16.363 min

"We tested the tyre compounds and did some basic set-up work. Unfortunately, this morning I touched the white line with the grooved tyres. There was some standing water. I lost control of the car and hit the barrier. However, we did not miss a lot of running time in the dry. This afternoon we were more or less able to complete the programme as planned. We now have to analyze the data and improve the balance of the car."

Nick Heidfeld:
BMW Sauber F1.08-07 / BMW P86/8
1st Practice: 8th, 1:16.719 min / 2nd Practice: 9th, 1:16.377 min

"Compared to last week's test the car's balance was better today. We have made several changes during the practice sessions and completed the tyre comparison. After wet conditions this morning, we knew there was a chance of more rain at the end of the second session. Consequently we switched to soft tyres earlier than usual. Overall both sessions went quite well."

Willy Rampf (Technical Director):

"After the conditions were bad in the first free practice, we had a very busy afternoon session, trying to work on the car as much as possible. We mainly concentrated on the tyre evaluation but also did some set-up work. However, the conditions were not consistent which gave us a bit of a challenge also in the afternoon. Nonetheless, we are quite happy with our pace. According to the weather forecast, it could be raining tomorrow, but we expect dry conditions on Sunday. Therefore it was important to collect a lot of data today."

-credit: bmw sauber

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