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BMW Sauber F1 Team - Malaysian GP - Race |
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Written by Jeff Seabrook
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Tuesday, 21 March 2006 |
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Weather: dry, overcast, 33-34°C Air, 36-38°C Track
Sepang (MAL). Strong performance and first championship points for the new BMW Sauber F1 Team. Nick Heidfeld drove an impressive race in the PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang, before an engine failure cost him fifth place. Jacques Villeneuve finished seventh and thus collected two championship points.
Jacques Villeneuve: 7th
BMW Sauber F1.06-03 /BMW P86
Fastest lap: 1:36.002s lap 43 (9th overall)
I got held up early on behind Trulli, which was a pity because it cost me time, but once I had overtaken him it was just a question of running to the end. Physically it was an easier race than I had expected and I knew I should be in good shape mechanically because it was the first race for my engine. It was bad luck for Nick, but we've scored the points we should have taken in Bahrain so I am happy. The race pace was strong, so we need now to work on our qualifying.
Nick Heidfeld: Retired lap 49
BMW Sauber F1.06-04 / BMW P86
Fastest lap: 1:35.751s lap 41 (7th overall)
I hoped we would be faster than we were in qualifying but I didn't expect us to be so good. I could keep pace with the McLaren and was quicker than either of the Ferraris. I made a superb start and gained places straight away. After that I had a troublefree race apart from delays with blue flags which made lapping backmarkers difficult. After my second pit stop it was pretty close between Felipe and I in Turn 1, but I was able to stay ahead of him. The engine failure came without warning. Fifth place would have been brilliant for us, it's a real shame.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
We are happy with the first two points for the new team, which we earned in the home country of our premium partner, Petronas. However, overall we are disappointed. Nick was in an excellent position to finish fifth until his engine failure intervened. We had already used that engine in Bahrain, and it will now be analysed in Munich.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director Chassis):
Our cars demonstrated strong performance today, which mirrored what we had expected after practice on Friday. It was a thrilling race for us, particularly for Nick who was able to keep both Ferraris behind him after his second stop. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish the race so instead of five points we only collected two. Both drivers did an excellent job and those two points are the reward for the team.
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