By BMW Sauber F1
April 3 2009

In the second free practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix, the BMW Sauber F1 Team adhered to its usual Friday strategy and focused solely on preparatory work for the race. At the end of the day, Robert Kubica finished 17th while Nick had to settle for 20th. Against expectations, the entire second session at the "Sepang International Circuit" was held in dry conditions. Around halfway through the session a thunderstorm approached the Malaysian GP venue but the rain didn't hit the circuit.

The BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers used the perfect conditions to successfully complete their scheduled preparation programmes. In the afternoon session, neither Nick nor Robert's cars were equipped with the Kinetic Energy Recovery System, KERS. As was the case in the morning session, Robert proved to be the slightly faster and busier of the BMW Sauber F1 Team pairing.

The Pole completed 38 laps comprising five stints, with his final stint being a 16-lap run. On his 25th lap, Robert crossed the finish line in 1:37.267 minutes to finish 17th on the leader board.

Like Robert, Nick also completed a mixture of short and long stints, a total of 37 laps. The German wasn't too happy with car's balance and in the end he finished 20th, with his 1:37.930-minute lap.

"It wasn't perfect and the balance of the car could have been better," admitted Nick, "But on the other hand, things didn't run as bad as it looks. Furthermore, our Friday in Australia also didn't look too promising but we proved to be rather competitive on Saturday and Sunday. So let's wait and see what our engineers can do and what the remainder of the weekend will bring."