Formula 1

Turkish GP: BMW Sauber Saturday qualifying notes

Here in Turkey for the 12th race of the season the BMW Sauber F1 Team continued its strong performance by qualifying both cars in the top ten. Robert Kubica will start from fifth in Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix, while Nick Heidfeld is sixth on the ...

Edited: Sep 8, 2007, 3:56 AM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Here in Turkey for the 12th race of the season the BMW Sauber F1 Team continued its strong performance by qualifying both cars in the top ten. Robert Kubica will start from fifth in Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix, while Nick Heidfeld is sixth on the grid at the Istanbul Park track. In Q2 the two drivers provoked jokes about German/Swiss precision when they set an identical lap time of 1min 27.253secs.

Robert Kubica:

"I think it was a good qualifying and to do better was difficult. We hope for a good race tomorrow, but it will be hot and so not easy for the tyres. There is not a big difference between the soft and hard compounds, as the soft ones are quick on the first timed lap and the hard ones quicker and more consistent on long runs. Fortunately I am pretty confident we are in a good shape for long runs as we concentrated on that yesterday."

"My first run in Q3 was not good, as I made a small mistake, but the second one was okay. We have to be happy and, although we could perhaps have gone a bit quicker, I think it is a lot to ask to put our car in the middle of the Ferraris and McLarens in today's conditions."

Nick Heidfeld:

"I am pleased with the result. My last lap was good and I was pleased to see we have been strong in Q2. I will be starting from the dirty side of the track which, of course, is a disadvantage. I am really looking forward to tomorrow, as it could be an exciting Grand Prix because overtaking is possible on this circuit. But for overtaking you need to have cars in front of you which are generally slower, and this is not the case for me."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):

"It was a good qualifying for both cars. The timing in all three sections was just perfect. In Q1 as well as in Q2 we didn't have to do more than one outing. This shows we are significantly stronger than the teams behind us. Fifth and sixth on the grid confirms what we expected."

Willy Rampf (Technical Director):

"We are satisfied with the qualifying and took our 'reserved' positions. Also for the 12th time in the 12 races this season we managed to get both cars in the top ten on the grid, which is a strong effort. Everything went according to plan, especially the double pit stops in Q3. Looking at our grid positions we are confident for the race on Sunday, which, like today, will be in hot conditions."

Robert Kubica
BMW Sauber F1.07-03/BMW P86/7
Qualifying: 5th, 1.27.722 min

Nick Heidfeld
MW Sauber F1.07-08/BMW P86/7
ualifying: 6th, 1.28.037 min

-credit: bmw sauber

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article Massa snatches pole position for Turkish GP

Next article Turkish GP: Bridgestone Saturday qualifying notes

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

More from

Robert Kubica



Missing out on Ferrari F1 drive felt like "bleeding" to Robert Kubica

Formula 1

Formula 1

Barcelona-Catalunya GP

Missing out on Ferrari F1 drive felt like "bleeding" to Robert Kubica



You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica

Formula 1

You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica



What would you like to ask Robert Kubica?

WEC

What would you like to ask Robert Kubica?

More from

Ferrari



F1 United States GP: Lewis Hamilton pips Max Verstappen in FP3

Formula 1

Formula 1

United States GP

4 h

F1 United States GP: Lewis Hamilton pips Max Verstappen in FP3



What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 United States GP

Formula 1

United States GP

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 United States GP



F1 United States GP: Charles Leclerc completes perfect Friday by topping FP2

Formula 1

Formula 1

United States GP

F1 United States GP: Charles Leclerc completes perfect Friday by topping FP2

Latest news



F1 United States GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

14 min

F1 United States GP: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch



2026 F1 United States Grand Prix starting grid

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

23 min

2026 F1 United States Grand Prix starting grid



F1 2026 qualifying head-to-head: United States GP

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

36 min

F1 2026 qualifying head-to-head: United States GP



F1 United States GP: Kimi Antonelli takes pole with George Russell sixth

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

44 min

F1 United States GP: Kimi Antonelli takes pole with George Russell sixth

Feature

Discover prime content



What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 United States GP

Formula 1

United States GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 United States GP



Max Verstappen’s words explained: Why Red Bull’s turnaround is so different this time

Formula 1

United States GP

By Ronald Vording

Max Verstappen’s words explained: Why Red Bull’s turnaround is so different this time



Mission control: Inside the FIA and F1's latest answer to football's VAR

Formula 1

United States GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Mission control: Inside the FIA and F1's latest answer to football's VAR



How Kimi Antonelli levelled up his character to be F1 2026's world champion-elect

Formula 1

United States GP

By Filip Cleeren

How Kimi Antonelli levelled up his character to be F1 2026's world champion-elect

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe