By BMW Sauber F1 Team
April 4 2007

The BMW Sauber F1 Team is working flat-out preparing for the second round of the 2007 Formula One season, to be held at Sepang, Malaysia. The goal: to confirm the positive performance delivered in the season opener in Australia.

Following an unusually long three-week break, the Malaysian Grand Prix will be held next Sunday. The BMW Sauber F1 Team has fond memories of the race in the tropics: in 2006, Jacques Villeneuve scored the first two World Championship points in the team's history there, and Nick Heidfeld held fifth position until a technical problem forced him into early retirement.

A year has gone by since this success - and the BMW Sauber F1 Team has made progress in many aspects. The new car, the BMW Sauber F1.07, succeeded in convincing as early as in the first race weekend of the 2007 season. In Melbourne, Nick and his team-mate, Robert Kubica, secured third and fifth positions on the grid, and in the race Nick finished fourth to score five World Championship points. Now, the driver pairing wants to continue with this promising performance at the 'Sepang International Circuit'. During the four days of testing at the Malaysian GP venue the team also worked on the F1.07's reliability.

"In 2006, we saw for ourselves the charismatic presence of our premium partner Petronas in Malaysia," says BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen.
"It was a fantastic experience to witness the euphoria with which our team was received in this country." Therefore, the BMW Sauber F1 Team can look forward to experiencing a true home-race atmosphere, this weekend, when it is fighting for World Championship points for the second time this year. "