Assessment: BMW, at the lowest point of its season?

A new frustrating weekend for the team that was fighting for both championships just a few months ago. BMW could do nothing on this race Sunday in Monaco. Both drivers, who started far back on the grid, were heavily fueled. Nick Heidfeld still came close to the top 10 with his 11th place. The German had a few scares: first with Vettel by touching him very slightly, then when Hamilton touched him, and lastly with his tires, which quickly degraded.

Robert Kubica hits rock bottom, he abandons once again due to a brake issue and still hasn’t opened his points tally.

Nick Heidfeld – 11th:

I tried to gain positions at the start and on the first lap, but this time it didn’t work. The circuit is too narrow. I was stuck behind Adrian [Sutil] for a good while. Apparently, he had problems with his tires, and I even touched the back of his car once. Lewis [Hamilton] also touched me, but I was happy I could continue. I was on a one-stop strategy, with the softest compound on the second stint, and they degraded. We gave it everything today, but we were too slow.

Robert Kubica – Retirement:

« We had difficulties throughout the weekend. I had a problem, which relegated me to the back of the grid. Then I had a puncture on my right rear tire. After that stop, the car was very heavy with fuel. In the end, I had to retire due to a brake problem. »

Mario Theissen – Director of BMW Motorsport:

« A better result was not possible for us this weekend. At no point was our car competitive. Zero points is our result. We need to improve our development speed so that it meets our own expectations. Robert Kubica had a damaged tire and then suffered brake issues, which led to his retirement. Nick Heidfeld was the first driver to switch to the softest tires after a long first stint. No one else was using this type of compound for such a long period. They degraded dramatically before improving towards the end of the race. »