By BMW Sauber F1 Team
December 6 2008

Nick Heidfeld experienced a Monaco weekend to forget. First an impressive series of performances came to an end in Qualifying; then an error made by another competitor ended his race. In the principality Robert Kubica, though, returned to the podium, and, as in Malaysia, the Pole finished second. Rain, accidents, changes of lead and not a few surprises: the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix was certainly not for those of weak dispositions. The race's finish alone was proof its unending drama: after 76 of the planned 78 laps the two-hour limit for a world championship Formula One grand prix had been reached.

Light rain fell on the track, which under the best of circumstances offers little grip, as Robert took up fourth on grid and Nick the 11th starting spot. Even before the start of the sixth race ofthe season, Nick and Robert made up two and one places respectively: A gearbox change forced David Coulthard (Red Bull) five grid slots backwards, while Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) was unable to start the formation lap on time, so was relegated to the back. Without these incidents Nick would have started 13th, thus ending a run of 28 consecutive top ten qualifying places for the German.

Numerous rear-end collisions and drivererrors on the we circuit caused mayhem and numerous unplanned pit stops during the opening laps. On lap 9 the Safety Carventured out onto the circuit for the first time. During this period the two BMWSauber F1 Team drivers managed to avoid the chaos to markedly improve on their grid positions. At the time of the first interruption, Robert lay third and Nick fifth.

As Robert moved up to second after Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) was awarded a drive-through penalty on lap 14, a situation which was to decide Nick's race occurred: Atthe entrance to Loew's Corner the attacking Fernando Alonso (Renault) drove into the 31-year-old. Although Nick was able to continue after a spin, damage to his left rear tyre forced him to pit on lap 18, dropping him to 18th. Thus Nick lost all chance of a good placing, and finished 14th.

Robert had, in the meantime, profited from an error by Felipe Massa (Ferrari) in the Sainte Dévote Corner. Thus the 23-year-old took over the lead, only to pit 10 laps later for his first planned stop. Shod with wet tyres he returned to the race in fourth place - taking third a short while later after Räikkönen damaged a front wing and was forced to make an unplanned stop.

A pit stop eventually decided the duel between Robert and Massa. On the 53rd lap the BMW Sauber F1 Team decided to switch its driver to dry tyres. As usual, the crew worked at lightening speed, and when Massa stopped for the second time on lap 57, Robert passed the Brazilian as he exited the pit lane to move into second place. Not even a further Safety Car phase, which contracted the field again, could force a change of position at the front, enabling Robert to take his third podium place in the sixth race of the season.