The 2007 Turkish Grand Prix turned out to be another successful race for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. The Munich and Hinwil based squad not only scored six World Championship points but also extended its lead over Renault, it closest rival, in the battle for third place in the Constructors' Championship.
From their fifth and sixth grid positions, Nick and Robert made great starts and passed McLaren's Fernando Alonso to gain a position each. Subsequently, they delivered in fine style and were almost able to match the pace of the leaders. However, following their first pit stops, on lap 13 (Robert) and lap 18 (Nick), the BMW pairing dropped back again behind Alonso when the Spaniard rejoined the race following his first stop on lap 19. Indeed, Robert lost another position as Renault's Heikki Kovalainen succeeded in passing the Pole during the first round of pit stops.
For Nick and Robert, the second stint was a rather uneventful one. They had no chance of pressurising the drivers ahead of them but at the same time they weren't under pressure from those behind. Following their second stops, however, made on lap 38 (Robert) and 41 (Nick), things changed. Robert lost another position as Williams' Nico Rosberg succeeded in rejoining the race right in front of him following his second stop, and consequently dropped back to eighth place. Despite pressurising Rosberg for the remainder of the race, Robert failed to pass the Williams driver and had to settle for eighth position.
At the same time, Nick was luckier. On lap 43, the third-placed Lewis Hamilton suffered a puncture on the right front wheel of his McLaren and lost a lot of time while cruising back to the pits on three wheels. This incident allowed Nick to pass the Briton for fourth place and the German succeeded in opening a gap on Hamilton, defending this position until he crossed the finish line.
"Nick made a fantastic start. He was the only driver to gain positions from the dirty side of the grid," said BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. "Afterwards, he had no problems whatsoever and secured a fine fourth place. Robert, however, suffered some bad luck. We wanted to offer him the chance of attacking on a low load of fuel but we realised as early as qualifying that this didn't quite result in the lap times we had hoped for. Subsequently, Kovalainen and Rosberg succeeded in pipping him during the first and second pit stops."
At the end of the day, the BMW Sauber F1 Team increased its lead over Renault in the fight for third place in the Constructors' Championship by another three points and can look forward to the coming races.
Bookmark or share this story with:
Related Articles: