By BMW Sauber F1 Team
September 28 2007

As no team has had the chance of testing on the revamped circuit, the first free practice session represented an additional challenge for the BMW Sauber F1 Team: apart from the usual set-up work and tyre evaluations, the team and drivers also had to get to know the track and gather as much data as possible while preparing for the remainder of the weekend. Therefore, the Munich and Hinwil based squad opted for a more extensive preparation programme than is usual on the Friday morning session of a Grand Prix weekend. Robert and Nick both completed four stints totalling 26 laps, and both set their personal fastest lap times on their final assaults.

Robert proved to be the quicker of the pairing. On the first timed lap of his final stint the Pole lapped the 4.563-kilometre circuit in 1:20.297 minutes to secure sixth position. Nick set his personal best time of 1:20.728 minutes on the second flyer of his final stint, thus finishing 13th. The fastest time of the session, a 1:19.119-minute lap, was set by Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen

In the second practice session, held from 14:00 to 15:30hrs local time (06:00 to 07:30hrs BST), the BMW Sauber F1 Team will continue its preparations for qualifying and the race.