Istanbul (TR). At the unexpectedly cold Istanbul Park the BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers were 12th and 6th (Robert Kubica) and 7th and 10th (Nick Heidfeld) respectively in the first Free Practice sessions for the Turkish Grand Prix. In the morning session Kubica only completed seven laps due to a mechanical problem with the rear suspension.

Robert Kubica:
BMW Sauber F1.08-03 / BMW P86/8
1st Practice: 12th, 1:29.330 min / 2nd Practice: 6th, 1:28.431 min
“Unfortunately I didn’t have too much time on the track this morning due to a small technical problem. Therefore we had to squeeze the morning work into this afternoon’s programme. We only did four runs and had to work on the tyres and the set up. We still have a few problems with the balance of the car, but tested several set up options which we will now evaluate and then choose the best one. I am confident for tomorrow.”

Nick Heidfeld:
BMW Sauber F1.08-05 / BMW P86/8
1st Practice: 7th, 1:29.024 min / 2nd Practice: 10th, 1:28.817 min
“The trouble is I don’t get the tyres heated up quickly enough. The long run wasn’t bad. As soon as the tyres start to work, it is okay, but it takes too long to get there. We now have to work on that.”

Willy Rampf (Technical Director):
”We could not complete our programme as planned. This was because on the one hand the weather conditions were changing, and on the other Robert had a mechanical problem with the car’s rear suspension in the first session. In the afternoon everything worked well and we concentrated on comparing tyres, and also did some set up changes. Now we shall analyse the data to find the best set up for this demanding track. On Saturday and Sunday it is supposed to stay dry.”