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Silverstone Race: Heidfeld on podium, Kubica DNF
By BMW Sauber F1 Team July 6 2008
In a tumultuous British Grand Prix, BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Nick Heidfeld delivered in fantastic style to finish second. Robert Kubica, however, was left stranded in the gravel and had to leave England empty-handed. .

Mixed emotions for the BMW Sauber F1 Team: In a turbulent British Grand Prix that proved to be a true tyre gamble, Nick proved to be the only one of the top drivers who didn't encounter a single off-track moment and thereby secured a great second place. While his team-mate, Robert, wasn't as fortunate.

Both BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers made good starts, with Nick defending his fifth place and Robert passing Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel for ninth. Over the course of the first lap they both gained positions as Mark Webber (Red Bull) and Massa spun, thus offering the chance of moving up to fourth and seventh respectively.

Subsequently, Nick drove a truly mature race. On an extremely wet track, he didn't take too many risks and when he was pressurised by Renault's Fernando Alonso, on lap three, he let the Spaniard pass. Up to his first pit stop, on lap 23, the German made do with defending his fifth position but when the rain began to fall again, on the same lap, he really went for it.

At this point in time, the tyre gamble started to pay off. The Renaults and the Ferraris that had pitted a little earlier - before the rain began to fall - opted for continuing the race on their used tyres. While the BMW Sauber F1 Team and McLaren had their cars shod with fresh intermediates.

Right after rejoining the race on his fresh set of tyres, Nick passed both Toyota's Timo Glock and Alonso Two laps later he overtook Toyota's Jarno Trulli, and on lap 28, Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen and Kovalainen were both passed by the German simultaneously. Therefore, once everybody had come in for their first pit stops, Nick held second place and during the course of the next few laps he even reduced Lewis Hamilton's lead.

At the same time, Robert also worked his way up the field in fantastic style. The Pole pitted on lap 24 and like his team-mate he seemed to be unstoppable in the worsening rain. He rejoined the race in 11th but in the following laps he passed driver by driver and on lap 35 he overtook Kovalainen for third place.

Prior to the second round of pit stops, the rain got stronger and stronger and the second chapter of the tyre gamble began. While most drivers - including Nick and Robert - opted to continue on intermediates, the Honda drivers, Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, had their cars shod with heavy wets.

For quite a while it looked as if the Honda decision would turn out to be the perfect move. Button went off just a lap later but Barrichello was four seconds faster than anybody else, passing car after car, and on lap 44 Nick had no chance of fending off the pressurising Brazilian.

At this point in time, Robert's race came to a sudden end. During his second stop, on lap 38, he lost some time as one of the rear wheels jammed and therefore rejoined in seventh, behind Kovalainen. While trying to make up the lost ground, the Pole was a little bit too aggressive and on lap 41, while making an effort to pass Kovalainen for fifth place, he went off and was left stranded in the gravel.

For Nick, however, the race took a clearly better course. On lap 47, when the rain had stopped, Barrichello had to come in for a third stop and Nick was back up to second. From this point in time nobody was able to jeopardise the German's second place and he could cruise to the finish line to celebrate his third runner-up finish of the 2008 season and add another eight points to the BMW Sauber F1 Team's tally.

"It was a fantastic weekend for Nick," said BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. "In yesterday's qualifying he demonstrated that he is back to full competitiveness. And today he drove a remarkable race, delivered the two most spectacular overtaking manoeuvres of the entire race and secured a second-place finish. A truly great result."

 

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