BMW Saber F1 Team - GP Spain - Race

Weather: sunny and dry, 26-27°C air, 41-43°C track Barcelona
(ESP). BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Nick Heidfeld qualified tenth in
Barcelona. His team-mate, Jacques Villeneuve, will start from the back
of the grid with a fresh engine for the Spanish Grand Prix. Nick
Heidfeld: BMW Sauber F1.06-02/BMW P86 Qualifying: 10th, 1:17.144 min
(3rd practice 3rd, 1:16.057 min) I am happy to be in the top ten as the
lap times are quite close. I think it would have been difficult to beat
the other cars in front of us, and even though I lost some time with
Ralf in front, honestly I don't think it would have changed anything
regarding my position. The set up was fine on one lap, and I hope we
can see the same tomorrow over a race distance. The balance of the car
changed, and it was quite different for all three outings. Jacques
Villeneuve: BMW Sauber F1.06-03/BMW P86 Qualifying: 14th, 1:15.847 min
(3rd practice 17th, 1:17.924 min) The first run went very easily and the
balance was very good, but then the wind picked up and the car's
balance changed. We still concentrated for the set-up on what we need
for the race with high fuel and all that. We were not at the optimum
for qualifying, but I was still expecting better than that. Mario
Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): Once again it was very tight. After
the first part of qualifying there was less than a second between first
and 14th places. In the second part the first 11 drivers were within
one second of each other. For us we had different strategies. It was
clear Jacques would not be able to start in the top ten because of the
engine change. For Nick we concentrated on getting him into the top
ten, which is exactly what he achieved. On his first lap he got stuck in
traffic which cost him quite a lot of time. What his starting position
will be worth compared to the opposition we will see tomorrow at the
first pit stop. Technically the cars ran problem free. As Jacques is
starting from the last row anyway, we will fit another fresh engine to
give him the best possible chances for here and Monaco. Willy Rampf
(Technical Director Chassis): Getting one car into the third qualifying
session is positive as this gives us a good platform to start the race
from. How good this tenth place will end up being we cannot say, as we
don't know everyone's different strategies. Jacques was very good in
first qualifying. Not doing so well in the second session hasn't played
a very big role in his weekend, as he has to go back ten places anyway
because we have changed his engine. Current footage available at
www.thenewsmarket.com. Current images available at
https://newsroom.bmwgroup.com/global/en PR: Jörg Kottmeier +49 170 5666 112, Heike
Hientzsch +49 172 6209904, Ann Bradshaw +44 7713 317006