By BMW Sauber F1 Team
July 29 2006

The third free practice session for the German GP in Hockenheim was held in warm conditions, but under overcast skies, thus offering the BMW Sauber F1 Team pairing, Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve, perfect conditions to complete their preparations for the remainder of the weekend Both Nick and Jacques completed their tyre evaluations and continued their work on the set-up of the BMW Sauber F1.06. On the way to doing so, Nick completed 14 laps to set a personal fastest lap time of 1:16.167 minutes and finish seventh, while Jacques' (16 laps) fastest lap time of 1:17.740 minutes meant 17th position for the Canadian.

In the closing stages of the session, both BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers went out on a fresh set of tyres to take their cars to the limit in qualifying trim, but following a crash involving Super Aguri's new GP driver, Sakon Yamamoto, their efforts were hampered by yellow flags in the third section and consequently they had to do without improving their lap times. The fastest time of the session (1:15.628 minutes) was set by Red Bull Racing's Christian Klien.

The three-leg qualifying session, starting at 14:00hrs CEST (13:00hrs BST), will bring a first clear indication of the BMW Sauber F1.06's true competitiveness this weekend.