BMW Sports Trophy 2008

The BMW Motorsport squad of Formula One drivers (Robert Kubica, Nick Heidfeld and Christian Klien), FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) works drivers and the junior racers from Formula BMW were joined by over 500 guests at the Postpalast venue in central Munich on Saturday evening for the end-of-year party and Sports Trophy presentation.

As BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen explained: “This event gives us the opportunity to thank our partners, drivers and associates for their commitment during the 2008 season. However, for some of us the season is not yet over; the Formula BMW World Final will take place in Mexico City this coming weekend. Plus, the BMW Sauber F1 Team will have little in the way of a winter break – further testing in Jerez is scheduled for December and preparations for 2009 are already in full swing at the factories.”

Looking back at 2008, Theissen reflected: “We’re proud that we achieved our goals once again in the third year of our Formula One team. We were aiming to record our maiden victory, and we did so with a 1-2. Plus, we collected our first pole position and two fastest race laps. In the WTCC we took six victories, but had to concede the title to our rivals for the first time. And Formula BMW Europe enjoyed a good debut season with its races on the Formula One support programme. However, this evening is traditionally an occasion for honouring those drivers and teams who have competed internationally at a high level of motor racing without works support and have served as crucial ambassadors for the performance capability of our products.”

Record entry list for BMW Sports Trophy; Franz Engstler tops the rankings.

With 141 independent drivers signing up, the entry list for the BMW Sports Trophy was longer in 2008 that at any time in its 40-year history. The previous year, 98 amateur racing drivers applied – also a record at the time. In 2008 the privateers picked up points in more than 20 race series around the world at the wheel of various BMW models. The candidates for the € 250,000 prize fund came from almost 20 different countries.

At the end of the day, it was Franz Engstler (47) who fended off the international field to claim the spoils. The former DTM driver from the Allgäu region of Germany had already won the Sports Trophy in 2005, and amassed his points this year in the WTCC, Asian Touring Car Series, ADAC Procar Series, and in the Nürburgring and Dubai 24-hour races. Engstler lined up in a BMW 320si, BMW 320i and BMW Z4 M Coupé in the various competitions and picked up a cheque for € 30,000 in Munich.

The runner’s-up prize (€ 25,000) went to the Swedish Touring Car Championship winner Richard Göransson. The Swede won the Sports Trophy back in 2004 and finished third last year. Mat Jackson (GB) claimed third place (€ 21,000) this time around, as well as finishing second in the British Touring Car Championship.

Quotes Roundup - Week Ending 9th Nov

The very best from the mouths of those in the know.

Reactions to the Brazilian Grand Prix

On the closest Formula 1 championship finish…

• “In all my years in Formula One, I haven’t seen such an incredibly exciting finish to a championship. I always said that we’d be fighting until the last corner of the last Grand Prix and that’s exactly what happened at the end of a brilliantly tense competition.” Luca di Montezemolo
• “He is great. Lewis went out there to win the title and he has won it. I believe the finale was amazing - but congratulations to Lewis. It was fantastic for the sport. It was fantastic for the television and an amazing finish.” Flavio Briatore
• “Both Felipe and Lewis are fantastic drivers to be honest. They have done the sport a credit, both of them, with their approach and their attitude. It is a shame that one of them had to lose as both did a great job.” Ross Brawn

Renault’s Driver Announcement

On the re-signing of Alonso and Piquet…

• “I have decided to stay with the ING Renault F1 team because, as I have often repeated this season, they have always been my first choice and I feel very happy and comfortable with them. It’s a very close-knit team with a competitive and winning mentality, and also a relaxed and warm attitude, which suits me perfectly.” Fernando Alonso
• “Although I have had a tough year, I have learned a lot from my rookie season and I will aim to put that experience to good use next season. I want to thank the team for their support this year and for the trust they have shown in me for the future.” Nelson Piquet Jr
• “This gives the ING Renault F1 Team one of the most exciting driver pairings with the perfect blend of youth and experience.” Flavio Briatore

Team Principals and Future Plans

On 2009 and beyond…

• “For me the reference point is BMW and the job they have done, it is pretty impressive. They have still to continue their climb but I think if we as a team achieve the competitiveness BMW manage to we will be quite pleased.” Ross Brawn
• “We have come a long way this season, but we need more and that requires some radical reorganisation of the management structure to ensure the maximum productivity. I would like to thank Colin Kolles for his tireless efforts in keeping such a small team alive and to Mike Gascoyne for bringing his wealth of technical expertise. Both have played an instrumental part in making the team what it is today.” Vijay Mallya
• “Formula One is set to experience the most significant rule changes in its history. Wide-reaching controls on aerodynamics systems will see the cars looking totally different in 2009, treadless tyres will be brought back and the totally new KERS technology introduced. “This may bring about shifts in the balance of power. This extremely challenging scenario does not alter our goal of fighting for the world championship title in 2009.” Mario Theissen

BMW Sauber F1 Team - 2008 Season Review

Mission accomplished.

In a Formula One season full of surprises, the BMW Sauber F1 Team was a model of consistency. As if setting out to reinforce the popular stereotypes of German thoroughness and Swiss precision, the young team swept through 2008 without a single technical retirement and notched up by far the most race laps and fastest pit stops of any team.

The BMW Sauber F1.08 racers were not only reliable, they also proved their mettle in performance terms. The highlights of the season were the one-two finish in Canada when Robert Kubica took the chequered flag ahead of team-mate Nick Heidfeld a year after crashing heavily at the Montreal track, Kubica’s pole position in Bahrain and two fastest race laps courtesy of Heidfeld (Malaysia and Germany). Together, the BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers collected eleven podium trophies in what was the team’s third season on the grid – up from two in 2007.

Here, BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, Technical Director Willy Rampf, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld look back on 2008.

Mario Theissen gave a positive verdict on the season: “We are proud of our successful season and we have once again achieved our exacting goals. We set out to turn the two-horse race at the top of the standings into a three-way battle and to record our first victory. We reached this target much earlier than expected and even managed to do so with a one-two finish.”

After the first three races of the season, the team was leading the World Championship, while Robert Kubica’s win in Canada put him top of the drivers’ standings. Should the season have worked out rather better in the end?

Theissen: “It wasn’t a question of what should have happened, but what we wanted to be the case. These magnificent achievements so early in the season naturally whetted the appetite for more. Although it didn’t take us long to reach our goals, there was no let-up from anybody in the team. We continued to bring new and further stages of technical developments into the car in the second half of the season, but unfortunately they didn’t produce the performance gains we expected. Our pace of development was fine, but the results were not up to scratch and our rivals opened up a gap over us during the course of the season. We will learn from this for 2009, when we will be looking to be up there battling for the title.”

Were you happy with the performances of your drivers in 2008?

Theissen: “All in all, yes – otherwise neither would be driving for us in 2009. However, Robert and Nick had very contrasting years. Robert shook off the memory of 2007, was hugely motivated for the job in hand and threw himself into his work with his new race engineer. Robert was in top form and if the F1.08 was not quick enough he took it as a personal affront. The working relationship was therefore not always easy, but his unreserved determination to achieve success commands respect.

For Nick the season was very different. It took too long for the seriousness of the situation to be recognised and the causes of his problems above all in qualifying to be systematically addressed. When you’ve got so many years of experience, you can maybe tell yourself after one or two unsuccessful outings that these were just blips and everything will be alright again the next time around, but that was not the case. It was only with intensive work that we got to grips with the problem. What stood out about both Robert and Nick was their extremely low error count on the track. In this respect, nobody else on the grid comes close to our two drivers – and for that I take my hat off to them.”

What are your expectations for 2009?

Theissen: “Formula One is set to experience the most significant rule changes in its history. Wide-reaching controls on aerodynamics systems will see the cars looking totally different in 2009, treadless tyres (slicks) will be brought back and the totally new KERS technology introduced. This may bring about shifts in the balance of power. This extremely challenging scenario does not alter our goal of fighting for the World Championship title in 2009.”

Willy Rampf gives his assessment of the BMW Sauber F1.08: “This car was something very special. It was not purely a further development; we opted for a very aggressive approach for the F1.08. This was very important given the goals for the season we had set ourselves, but clearly not without risk. Indeed, at the roll-out the car was still far from its full potential. What followed was a very tough, but also incredibly productive time for us – and by the start of the season we had the car very much on track. In Melbourne Robert was only a hair’s breadth away from taking pole position.”

What was your reaction to the one-two finish in Canada?

Rampf: “You just can’t put it into words. When no other car and no other drivers are better than your two, you have reached your goal. And that applies not only to me, but to the whole team. You mustn’t forget that many of the people in the team gave everything over a number of years for the independent Sauber team – without any prospect of getting right to the top on their own merits – and have been part of the BMW Sauber F1 Team from its launch. The one-two in Montreal had a big impact on us all, and not only on the Sunday – it had a sustained effect.”

Was it not possible to build on this success and step up another gear over the remainder of the season?

Rampf: “Of course, this success raised expectations both within the team and from the outside. We developed several new parts which produced good results in the wind tunnel. When it came to their performance on the track, however, they did not deliver what they promised. Added to which, the optimum set-up window of the F1.08 was very small. It was not easy to adjust the individual parameters to stay within this window all the time. This was a learning experience, which we will utilise again for the 2009 season.”

As for 2009: how will technical responsibility be apportioned?

Rampf: “I have responsibility for the F1.09 concept and, as Technical Coordinator, will also be at the helm for the team’s race activities in 2009. The development process and construction of the new car is overseen by Managing Director Walter Riedl, who will continue to head up operations at the Hinwil plant and project management across both locations in 2009. It was important for me to cut down on my workload – this was a personal decision following a long time working flat-out.”

Robert Kubica, how would you assess your second full season in F1?

Kubica: “The 2008 season was very long and extremely hard – probably the toughest of my career. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to sustain our pace of development through the second half of the season. But we have made a big leap forward over 2007. We had no technical retirements and were in there fighting for the title almost until the end of the season. The team have done a wonderful job and we can be proud of our season, I don’t like to give myself too much praise, but I think I drove really well. I was almost always fast and able to show my potential. However, I’m a person who always wants to win and for me second place is the first loser.”

What were the highs and lows of 2008?

Kubica: “I can think of various great moments, especially over the first half of the season – my podium in Malaysia, pole position in Bahrain and, of course, my first race victory in Canada. I’m also very proud of my performance at Fuji. That was probably my strongest race of the year. The most frustrating weekend, on the other hand, was the first of the season in Melbourne: I’d had a very disappointing season in 2007 and my race was going really well until Kazuki Nakajima ran into me.”

Nick Heidfeld, how would you sum up the 2008 season?

Heidfeld: “So-so, with an upwards curve towards the end of the season. It is always my aim to get the maximum from the car and I didn’t manage to do that through the middle part of the season – in qualifying in particular. The positive thing is that I came through this difficult period by analysing the situation, rather than stubbornly ploughing on. Highlights included the race at Spa – when my decision to change onto wet-weather tyres two laps from the finish paid off – and five passing manoeuvres over the course of the season in which I overtook two cars in the same move. And, of course, four second places aren’t bad going either.”

How do you expect the reintroduction of slick tyres will affect the racing in 2009? Will they help you to exploit the full potential of the tyres in qualifying?

Heidfeld: “We’ll find out in due course if slicks suit my driving style specifically, but I believe they will do and I definitely think it’s important that we get them back in Formula One! Slicks are simply part of F1, both for the sport as a spectacle and as far as driveability is concerned. Anything else is just a joke. In combination with the significant reduction in the cars’ downforce levels, slicks will hopefully also result in more overtaking.”

The 2008 season in brief.

The innovative looks of the F1.08 made quite an impression at its presentation in the new BMW Welt in Munich on 14th January. The subsequent testing in Valencia was disappointing, but the team pulled out all the stops to turn things around before the opening race of the season in Melbourne. Their calm but intensive work resulted in second place for Heidfeld, while Kubica – lying fifth – was the innocent victim of a collision at the restart after a Safety Car phase and left Australia with no points to show for his efforts.

In Malaysia it was Kubica’s turn to take second place, while Heidfeld finished sixth. Their total of 11 points represented a record haul for the young team. To add the icing on the cake, Heidfeld also recorded the team’s first fastest race lap.

Next up was Bahrain: another race, another milestone. Kubica earned the BMW Sauber F1 Team its first pole position, before finishing third in the race to give him back-to-back podiums. Heidfeld crossed the line in fourth. The team topped the constructors’ standings as the F1 circus moved on to Europe. Bahrain offered the first signs that Heidfeld was having difficulties bringing his tyres up to temperature in qualifying.

The start of the European season saw Ferrari in dominant mood. Kubica finished fourth at Barcelona, while Heidfeld fell foul of Safety Car rules. The German was forced to pit for fuel while the pit lane was closed, landing him with the inevitable ten-second stop-and-go penalty and meaning he could do no better than ninth.

After a modest performance in qualifying at Istanbul, the BMW Sauber F1 Team salvaged fourth and fifth places in the race, allowing them to defend their second place in the Constructors’ World Championship behind Ferrari.

Kubica finished second in a damp race in Monaco to earn a spot in the famous royal box. Heidfeld had qualified a lowly 12th as his tyre problems persisted. In the race itself the German had battled up to fifth position when Renault’s Fernando Alonso (Spain) drove into the side of him. Heidfeld nursed his battered F1.08 across the line in 14th, a dispiriting four laps behind the winner.

Round seven of the season yielded unbridled celebration for the team. Kubica and Heidfeld raced to a one-two finish, earning the BMW Sauber F1 Team its maiden race victory in only its third season on the grid. Kubica’s win allowed him to take over the lead in the Drivers’ World Championship and the team leapt back into second place in the constructors’ standings, just three points adrift of Ferrari.

Qualifying for the French GP did not go well for the team, but Kubica at least pulled in four points for his fifth-place finish in the race. The hop across the English Channel brought an improved showing at the British Grand Prix, although this time the Pole was left empty-handed after a rare mistake saw him aquaplane off the track. Heidfeld celebrated an impressive second place at a sodden Silverstone.

In the team’s home race at Hockenheim, Heidfeld recovered from further qualifying strife and a grid position of 12th to set his second fastest race lap on the way to a fourth-position finish. While Heidfeld benefited from his race strategy and a Safety Car phase, Kubica came off rather worse and finished in his starting position of seventh.

The final race before the short summer break was a chastening experience for the team. The F1.08 was clearly short of speed in Hungary and a single point for Kubica was all it could muster. Second place in the Constructors’ Championship was lost to McLaren Mercedes, and Kubica and Heidfeld were now fourth and fifth in the drivers’ standings.

The first F1 race on the portside circuit in Valencia was one of mixed fortunes for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. Kubica secured the team its eighth podium finish in 12 races with third place in the Grand Prix of Europe, but his team-mate could manage only ninth. Heidfeld struggled with the harder tyre compound and admitted his race had been a disaster.

All of which made Heidfeld even happier with his podium finish at Spa, the key to which was his brave decision to change onto wet-weather tyres two laps from the finish. Kubica’s chances of a top-three finish were scuppered by a sticking fuel tank nozzle. It was a rare mishap for the BMW Sauber F1 Team, which topped the fastest pit stop statistics. Kubica went on to finish sixth.

The final race of the European season at Monza was also hit by rain. Kubica missed the cut for the top ten qualifying shoot-out at GP number 14, but a strong race performance on a one-stop strategy and a perfectly timed switch from wet-weather tyres to intermediates took him onto the third step of the podium. Heidfeld secured fifth place after starting from 10th.

The BMW Sauber F1 Team went away from Formula One’s magnificent debut night race in Singapore with just three points (Heidfeld/6th position). Starting from fourth on the grid, Kubica was a victim of the Safety Car rules and crossed the line 11th. The BMW Sauber F1 Team remained third in the Constructors’ World Championship, with McLaren now leading the way – albeit only briefly.

Kubica took centre stage at Fuji as the chief protagonists in the World Championship race shunted each other down the field. After 17 laps in the lead the Pole was forced to settle for second place behind Alonso, but had put himself back in contention for the driver’s title. Heidfeld finished a nondescript ninth after an errant tyre strategy in qualifying. Ferrari climbed back to the top of the constructors’ standings.

Heidfeld was slightly faster than Kubica over the whole weekend in Shanghai, and the two drivers finished the penultimate race of the season in fifth and sixth positions respectively. The result put an end to both Kubica and the team’s outside chances of World Championship glory. The drivers’ crown had come down to a straight fight between Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari).

The season finale in Brazilian was as tense and exciting as they come, although the BMW Sauber F1 Team now had little more than a minor role in proceedings. Hamilton clinched the title on the last lap of 2008 and Ferrari wrapped up the Constructors’ Championship.

Kubica had struggled with the balance of his F1.08 in qualifying and could do no better than 13th. Given his modest grid position, the team took the risk of starting him on dry tyres on what was a drying track. However, on the formation lap the Pole decided to change onto intermediates after all. The trip to the pits relegated him to the back of the field and ultimately cost him third place in the Drivers’ Championship. Kubica finished level on points with 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) but had to settle for fourth. Heidfeld started the race from eighth, but excessive wheel spin meant he lost ground off the line and he crossed the line 10th ahead of Kubica. Drawing a blank at Interlagos also cost the German driver a place in the final table – he slipped down to sixth, one point behind Alonso. The BMW Sauber F1 Team remained third in the constructors’ standings.

14-Oct-08: Toro Rosso Won’t Announce Drivers Till Season End

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 14th October 2008.

Just a few weeks ago, it seemed really obvious that Bourdais was going to get the push from Toro Rosso and two new drivers would be stepping in to the team for 2009. Now, though, Gerhard Berger says that there’s no rush to announce a new lineup, and they’ll probably wait until after the season. He spoke out after the Japanese Grand Prix but wouldn’t be drawn on whether Bourdais’ recent improved performance could guarantee a renewal: “I don’t want to say anything at this stage because we have to sort out everything in a quiet way. But that’s exactly what we need to see him doing as he did today. It was a good result.” Berger also defended Bourdais and said he did nothing wrong in the Massa incident.

Meanwhile, BMW have said they will do all they can to back Kubica for the title, now he is only 12 points behind leader Lewis Hamilton. Whilst Mario Theissen says there’s nothing they can do to make the car faster, they won’t step back just yet.

That’s it for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

06-Oct-08: BMW Lineup Remains Unchanged for 2009

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Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 6th October 2008.

BMW have become the next team to confirm their driver lineup for 2009 and it remains unchanged. Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld line up beside Christian Klien as test driver. BMW Motorsport Director, Mario Theissen said, of the pairing: “We are in no doubt that we will again achieve our ambitious aims with them in the team’s fourth year.” Of course, this news narrows down Alonso’s options for next year, with his main choice now being between Renault and Honda.

Elsewhere today, Bernie Ecclestone has hit back at the statements Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo made regarding Singapore. The team boss said the safety car rules make F1 a circus. Ecclestone has apparently responded to this with: “After the weekend Ferrari had, their president should have shut up and kept his head down. If Massa loses the world championship, he will know the team were responsible. He would have destroyed everybody in Singapore if he had kept going.”

That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

20-Sep-08: Ron Dennis Believes in the International Court of Appeal

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This is F1 Minute and it’s the 20th September 2008.

Ron Dennis has said he has absolute faith in the International Court of Appeal, who are due to meet on Monday to discuss the Belgium penalty against Lewis Hamilton. When asked if he thinks there is a bias against anyone other than Ferrari, Dennis said: “Although Lewis has had five penalties already this season, I wouldn’t claim that he hasn’t been treated fairly. More importantly, we have to have faith in the system, and in the fairness of the FIA International Court of Appeal at which our appeal will be heard.”

Elsewhere, other teams are looking forward as well, although the Singapore Grand Prix seems to be at the forefront of their minds. BMW boss Mario Theissen thinks it is going to be something to behold: “You only need to think of the special atmosphere you get at a football match under floodlights: the surroundings melt into the background, the action itself takes centre stage. I’m expecting this premiere in Singapore to be the highlight of the year.”

That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

11-Sep-08: Ferrari Say KERS is Making Next Year Difficult

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 11th September 2008.

We’ve seen some teams struggle with KERS already this year, notably BMW, but now Ferrari say they too don’t think it will be ready in time for the 2009 season. Engine Technical Director Gilles Simon says: “The Kinetic Energy Recovery System is a complex subject, which finds us dealing with a lot of new and complicated areas, while ensuring that we still devote all necessary efforts into continuing our usual development programme on the current year car.” He said that all the teams will struggle to get the technology ready, and that not everyone will benefit in the same way.

Whilst we’re on the subject of new regulations, BMW director Mario Theissen says that even longer-life engines are the way to go. He says changing the regulations drives costs up, but under the current freeze, he thinks teams could get away with three-race engines, if speeds were reduced. I get the feeling any moves to deliberately make things slower won’t be popular, but let me know what you think at F1 Minute.com.

30-Aug-08: Ferrari Confirm Driver Lineup For 2009

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Today is the 30th August 2008 and you’re listening to F1 Minute.

The speculation about Kimi Raikkonen’s desire to remain in Formula 1 has been rife recently, almost as much as the question of whether a seat is available for him at Ferrari next year. Well, now we have the answer to both questions.

Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo has confirmed to the Italian media that their driver line up will be the same in 2009 as it is this year. He also said that Raikkonen is as motivated as ever and continues: “It can’t be forgotten that he’s the world champion, and that last year he won in his first season with Ferrari, while many people never thought he would do so. Now he has 17 victories and I hope he’ll get back to winning ways in the next Grand Prix in Belgium. Anyway, he’s not a driver in crisis.”

Meanwhile, concerned about the expanding calendar, BMW boss Mario Theissen has said he thinks it would be okay if Friday practice was revamped into a test day, with in-season testing scrapped altogether.

That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

09-Aug-08: No Rest for BMW Over the Summer Break

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Today is the 9th August 2008, and this is F1 Minute.

You would think that the three week summer break in F1 would be just that, time for a rest from the non stop circus of Grands Prix. Not so much for BMW, as Mario Theissen has said that the team back at the factory are working as hard as ever on some updates for the car. Whilst there’s no testing just yet, they certainly haven’t given up. He says: “Obviously we aren’t going to sit down and twiddle our thumbs as we still have developments in the pipeline - aerodynamic as well as mechanical. We definitely won’t stop the development of the F1.08 because of one unsatisfying result.”

Elsewhere, teams have been looking into what caused the fuel rig fires at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but they’re not revealing much. So far, Williams and Toro Rosso both say it wasn’t a problem with the rig itself, but this is how a spokesperson for Toro Rosso put it: “I can confirm it was not a problem with the rig. The problem has been resolved to make sure it does not happen again, but there is no further comment from our technical group.” Very helpful, thank you.

That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

05-Aug-08: Toyota Will Most Likely Keep Current Lineup

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 5th August 2008.

It’s looking likely that Toyota’s line up for next year will still feature both Trulli and Glock, although no official announcement has been made yet. President of Toyota Motorsport John Howett has hinted at such a lineup, well, he’s basically confirmed it: “As we stand here today, we intend to keep both drivers. And I don’t think that’s ever been in any doubt to be honest.”

Whilst we’re on the subject of Toyota, they hosted a meeting at their motorhome in Hungary, for representatives of all the teams to discuss KERS. It looks like more than half of teams want to delay the introduction of the new technology for a year. Four teams voted against the delay, including BMW, Honda and Williams. These are all teams who have invested heavily in the new systems already.

BMW Team Principal, Mario Theissen, says: “There were three aspects discussed in the meeting - two of them openly, which is safety and financial implications. And the other one, underlying the picture, is competitiveness…“

That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

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