By BMW Sauber F1
July 1 2006

In the third free practice session for the US Grand Prix, held in brilliant sunshine, with temperatures reaching 30° C, Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve experienced no problems whatsoever and successfully completed the BMW Sauber F1 Team's preparations for the remainder of the weekend. Nick, who completed three stints, totalling 18 laps, delivered in particularly fine style. The German took second position on the second timed lap of his first stint and defended this position by improving during the course of each of his stints and setting a personal fastest lap time of 1:12.049 minutes. Only in the closing minutes of the session, when Nick had completed an eight-lap run, and several drivers went out for a final assault, did he drop back to fourth position.

Jacques needed a little more time to get into the rhythm, but at the end of the session, he was just fractions slower than his team-mate. The Canadian completed 13 laps in three stints, and with his personal fastest lap time of 1:12.327 minutes, he finished eighth.

The fastest lap (1:10.760 minutes) was set by Ferrari's Michael Schumacher.

In the three-leg qualifying session, held from 14.00hrs local time (18.00hrs BST), Nick and Jacques will again give their very best in order to secure top-ten grid positions.

>Times:

1 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:10.760

2 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:11.039

3 2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:11.940

4 16 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 1:12.049

5 11 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:12.149

5 11 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:12.149

6 1 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:12.202

7 12 Jenson Button Honda 1:12.269

8 17 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 1:12.327

9 3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.569

10 4 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.592

11 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth 1:12.675

12 9 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 1:12.904

13 18 Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 1:12.913

14 8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:13.091

15 7 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:13.101

16 21 Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 1:13.103

17 15 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 1:13.113

18 19 Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 1:13.172

19 10 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 1:13.230

20 14 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 1:13.364

21 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:13.806

21 23 Franck Montagny Super Aguri-Honda 1:14.454

22 23 Franck Montagny Super Aguri-Honda 1:14.454