Username
Password
Kubica gets another podium in Bahrain,Nick follows
By BMW Sauber F1 Team April 6 2008
In the desert of Bahrain, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld finished third and fourth respectively, thereby giving the BMW Sauber F1 Team the lead in the Constructors' Championship, for the first time in its history. .

 In the third round of the 2008 Formula One World Championship, the BMW Sauber F1 Team once again demonstrated its consistently increasing competitiveness by taking the lead in the Constructors' Championship. With 30 points to its tally, it now holds a one-point lead over Ferrari, with McLaren following another point behind. In the race, Robert and Nick were unable to fully match the pace of the Ferraris but proved to be clearly faster than the McLarens.

At the start, pole-sitter Robert was passed by Ferrari's Felipe Massa, and on lap three, Massa's team-mate Kimi Räikkönen also succeeded in overtaking the BMW Sauber F1 Team driver. At the same time, Nick gained two positions. At the start he was overtaken by Jarno Trulli (Toyota) but following Lewis Hamilton's poor start, which dropped him to tenth position, he was able defend his sixth place. On the second lap, Nick re-passed Trulli for fifth position and subsequently passed McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen with a stunning overtaking manoeuvre.

From this point, Robert and Nick continued in third and fourth positions, with Robert succeeding in closing the gap to Räikkönen. At the same time, lap by lap, Robert and Nick increased their lead over fifth placed McLaren driver Kovalainen. The Finn's team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, hit Fernando Alonso's Renault from behind and had to pit for a new front wing. On rejoining the race he had dropped back to 18th position, thus dropping out of contention.

On lap 18, Robert was the first driver to come in for his first scheduled pit stop and rejoined the race in ninth position. Four laps later, on lap 22, Nick pitted for the first time, rejoining the race behind his team-mate. When all the front-runners had made their first stops, the BMW Sauber F1 Team pairing was back in third and fourth positions respectively, as they continued increasing their lead over Kovalainen.

For the remainder of the race, Robert and Nick experienced no problems whatsoever and the team delivered another two quick stops on the 42nd (Robert) and 45th (Nick) laps, thus offering the drivers the chance of finishing third and fourth. They crossed the finish line 4.9 (Robert) and 8.4 seconds behind race winner Felipe Massa, while the McLaren of Kovalainen followed, another 20 seconds further back.

"A great day for our team," said BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. "Being the new leader in the Constructors' Championship is just fantastic. That's an achievement we didn't even think about prior to the race."

 

Bookmark or share this story with: