By BMWF1Talk & Autosport
March 22 2008

BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers will start from 4th and 5th positions tomorrow, despite setting 6 and 7th best times in qualifying, after stewards found both Mclaren drivers responsible of blocking a flying lap. The drivers that had been blocked were Fernando Alonso and Nick Heidfeld.

 

Nick Heidfeld and Mario Theissen talked with autosport.com, and said...

Nick Heidfeld on the incident:

"If they did all they could do, they didn't do well. I was on my last lap, my first lap on the option tyres, which was the quickest and should have been even quicker, if not for the two McLarens driving in the middle of the racing line at 80 or less km/h, while I was doing 289. It was not really normal, and that just caused me some laptime.

"I was happy to make the corner, because when I approached it I saw the problems I had with them in front. At first I thought I would miss the corner but then I just made it and lost a little bit on the exit.

"But unfortunately the laptimes are so close that a little bit means a lot. Five hundredths it would have been fourth, and one and a half tenths it would have been third so that's disappointing."

He also pointed that there should a rule change:

"We should try to avoid this situations, with drivers and teams paying more attention or by changing the rules," he said. "As for example we've done on the lap to the grid. In the past some drivers went very slow to save fuel and others went very quick.

"It was very dangerous, so we have a minimum time now. Maybe there could be some things that could be introduced. We already spoke about it and I think it's been discussed."

Nick Heidfeld on the penalty announcement:

"Yeah, of course (if he feels the penalty to Mclaren as a compensation). I gain two position - it is better than seventh. I felt that I was hampered on my fast lap and obviously the stewards felt the same way. I was impeded and I lost laptime, so did Fernando."

Again insisting on the need of possible changes in the rules, Heidfeld admitted:

"Definitely, I am sure they (Mclaren drivers) didn't do it on purpose but unfortunately that doesn't matter."

"I think one option would be to do something similar that we have do on the laps to the grid, where we have seen dangerous things in the past. There is a minimum time there and maybe something similar can be done."

Mario Theissen after the penalty was announced: 

"For me, the decision is important because of another fact – the difference in speed between Nick and two slow cars was more than 200 km/h – which was a very dangerous situation."

Also Kubica had an opinion on the incident:

"I saw clearly that Alonso's lap was screwed because of, I think, Kovalainen staying on the racing line. Nick was a bit more lucky because his incident was before braking, so he could rejoin the good line. But Alonso, he had to brake inside and he lost for sure there a lot of time. It was quite dangerous."