Sakhir (BH). The Pole is on pole - the BMW Sauber F1 Team celebrates its first fastest time in qualifying. Robert Kubica was quickest in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix. It is the 38th Grand Prix for the team and the 25th for Kubica. Team mate, Nick Heidfeld, was sixth.

Robert Kubica:
BMW Sauber F1.08-03 / BMW P86/8
Qualifying 1st, 1.33.096 min (3rd practice: 7th, 1.33.024 min)
“I am very happy. I missed the chance to take pole position in Australia, but this time it worked out well. My first run in Q3 was quite good, but I made a small mistake in the first corner. The second run was better, although I again made a small mistake in corner 9. We knew before the season that the car was good due to the results of the computer simulation and the wind tunnel work. Finally it has paid off that we never gave up working hard. I want to thank the entire team who have worked so hard over the last months. We will now study the data and prepare for tomorrow. A long race lies ahead of us.”

Nick Heidfeld:
BMW Sauber F1.08-04 / BMW P86/8
Qualifying 6th, 1.33.737 min (3rd practice: 20th, 1.34.074 min)
“First of all I want to congratulate Robert. The first pole position for our team is a great success, and it is fantastic we have a car that enabled us to achieve this. In view of this, of course, I can’t be satisfied with sixth. But after I had a lot of difficulties in the practice sessions getting the most out of the tyres and the grip for a single lap, it could have been a lot worse today. Since Friday we have changed the balance of the car and it is much better now. Anyway, on the long runs it was okay right from the beginning therefore I have no reason to hang my head down before the race.”

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
“This is a fantastic day for Robert and our young team. We really did not expect to be on pole position. We are only in our third season and are at the very top of the grid for the first time. It is another step up the ladder. On the pit wall I was told it took 256 races for Sauber to get there. Robert managed to do a perfect lap while Nick is not entirely happy here so far, but he also has good chances from the third row.”

Willy Rampf (Technical Director):
“This is a very special day for us because we have our first ever pole position as a team. We deserved it thanks to a good drive from Robert. A big compliment to him - not only for his final run as he has been very quick here since Friday morning. But Nick is also in a very good position for the race – we are really looking forward to it.”