Saturday: BMW lets go in Q2

BMW-Sauber has just experienced a strange qualifying session as both drivers pulled over their cars to the side of the track seconds apart during the second part of the session. What is the reason for this? Obviously, Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica had a faulty engine block. This is very surprising since these were new components, and each driver can only use eight per season. This evening, both drivers are downcast as tomorrow they will start from the 13th and 15th positions.

However, the weekend was off to a good start with a good practice session this morning and especially since the team was coming off an excellent Belgian weekend. Things will probably be different tomorrow…

Robert Kubica – 10th and 13th:

« This is a very difficult situation for me, not only for this Grand Prix but also for the upcoming races. I don’t have many spare engines. It is also unfortunate for Nick [Heidfeld] who was very competitive here. Even though I was struggling a bit, I was confident about participating in the last qualifying session. I was struggling a bit with the car in the first session, but it was better right from the start of the second. I managed to do a good first lap, but unfortunately, I encountered traffic on the next two laps. The engine problem makes my position for the last races of the season very complicated. »

Nick Heidfeld – 3rd and 15th:

It’s a real shame to have an engine problem when everything seemed so promising. We had a good qualification in Spa where I was third, and during this morning’s practice, I was third again. So, I expected a good qualifying result with a car that was very fast here. It’s therefore a rather exceptional reliability issue that is the cause of my failure, and, of course, it’s very strange that both Robert [Kubica] and I had problems with two new engines within a few minutes. We’ll look for the reasons. Qualifying in 15th position is difficult, but I won’t give up and will make the most of the upcoming opportunities.

Mario Theissen – Director of BMW Motorsport:

« Both drivers were stopped due to engine failures in the second part of qualifying. What we can say at the moment is that they both had the same problem. Both engines are new, so the reason is not high mileage. A thorough analysis will only be possible once we have dismantled the engines. Of course, this has a negative effect on our race prospects. We were expecting good grid positions. Clearly, these failures also affect our planning for upcoming races. »