By BMW Sauber F1 Team
October 5 2007

In the first practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix, Robert Kubica finished sixth on the timesheets. Nick Heidfeld lost a lot of time due to a hydraulics problem but was able to return to the track to continue his preparation work with just five minutes remaining. In the end, the German BMW Sauber F1 Team driver finished tenth. In warm conditions, with temperatures reaching 30° C, Robert Kubica experienced a trouble-free first practice session at Shanghai. While working on setup and executing tyre evaluations, the Pole completed a total of 4 stints totalling 23 laps. On the first flying lap of his final stint, Robert set his personal best time of 1:38.055 minutes to secure sixth position on the time sheets.

Nick, however, experienced a somewhat difficult session. On the out-lap of his second stint, smoke was coming out of the exhaust pipes of his BMW Sauber F1.07 and he had to pull off track just a few metres away from the pit-lane entrance. He was then pushed back to the pits and the team did a great job repairing the car before the session was over.

With just five minutes remaining, Nick was able to go out again and complete another four-lap stint. In the end, the 1:38.445-minute lap set during the course of his first stint proved to be the German's fastest lap time and he had to make do with tenth place.

"It was a hydraulics problem," Nick revealed after the session. "At first we believed that it would be enough to change only a small part but this presumption turned out to be a mistake. Hence, my car was equipped with the entire rear axle of the T-car. I could have gone faster in my final stint but I didn't really go for it as I was focused on doing as many laps as possible, instead."

Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen proved to be the quickest of the session by clocking a lap time of 1:37.024 minutes.

In the second practice session, held from 14.00 to 15.30 hrs local time (07.00 to 08.30 BST), the BMW Sauber F1 Team will continue its preparations for the remainder of the weekend.