BMW Motorsport - Formula One Season Review 2007.
Exceeding expectations -
BMW Sauber F1 Team third strongest in only its second year. 2
Interview with BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. 3
Facts and figures. 7
GP Australia. 9
GP Malaysia. 9
GP Bahrain. 9
GP Spain. 9
GP Monaco. 10
GP Canada. 10
GP USA. 10
GP France. 11
GP Britain. 11
GP Europe. 11
GP Hungary. 12
GP Turkey. 12
GP Italy. 12
GP Belgium. 13
GP Japan. 13
GP China. 14
GP Brazil. 14
Results and statistics. 15
Exceeding expectations -
BMW Sauber F1 Team third strongest in only its second year.
Munich/Hinwil, 20th November 2007. Now that the 2007 Formula One season has
also been wrapped up at a bureaucratic level for the BMW Sauber F1 Team, it is
time to take stock. The Team exceeded all expectations in what was only its
second season on the grid. Having garnered 36 points during its debut year in
Formula One to finish fifth in the standings - a distant 50 points off fourth
place - the team went on to become the third-strongest outfit in this season's
World Championship from the first grand prix on.
Nick Heidfeld notched up two podiums in 2007, finishing second in Canada and
third in Hungary. The German took points from 14 of the season's 17 races to
secure fifth position in the drivers' standings with 61 points, the best season
result of his Formula One career so far. Robert Kubica completed 11 grands prix
in the top eight, finishing sixth in the World Championship on 39 points. The
Pole was forced to sit out the USA Grand Prix after suffering a serious crash
in the preceding race in Canada. Both drivers made it into the top ten
qualifying shootout on every race weekend of 2007, Heidfeld qualifying
third-fastest on two occasions.
There was mostly very little to choose between Heidfeld and Kubica, and both
drivers performed impressively in head-to-head battles under race conditions.
In August the two drivers were confirmed for the 2008 season.
In the second year of its development phase, the team built the third-best car
in Formula One with the BMW Sauber F1.07. Third place in the constructors'
standings was secured as early as September, and from this point on the team
worked flat out on development for the 2008 season. To this end, a steady
stream of improvements have been made to the team's resources. By the end of
the season the target personnel level for Hinwil of 430 employees had almost
been achieved, while the extension to the factory is now ready for the team to
move in.
BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen summed up a tough season in positive
terms: "We exceeded our own targets, which makes us very proud. The penalty
imposed on McLaren Mercedes may have promoted us to second place in the World
Championship on paper, but that doesn't disguise the fact that four cars were
clearly faster than us in 2007. Closing the gap on these two teams will be a
big challenge."