By BMW Sauber F1 Team
July 5 2006

The BMW Sauber F1 Team has offered German driver Sebastian Vettel the opportunity to test the F1.06 for a day. Vettel, who turned 19 just two days ago, won the German Formula BMW Championship in 2004.

Test in Jerez. July 5th – July  7th 2006 Day one

Wednesday Weather conditions: Sunny and dry, air: 23-32°C, track: 26-48°C
Number of cars participating: 12
Fastest lap overall: 1:17.786 s, Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren-Mercedes, Michelin

Robert Kubica : Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.06-07 / BMW P86 V8 Test kilometres today:  301 km (68 laps) Fastest lap: 1:18.591 s (lap 59)

Sebastian Vettel:   Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.06-06 / BMW P86 V8 Test kilometres today:  368 km (83 laps) Fastest lap: 1:19.595 s (lap 79)

 Programme: The BMW Sauber F1 Team has offered German driver Sebastian Vettel the opportunity to test the F1.06 for a day. Vettel, who turned 19 just two days ago, won the German Formula BMW Championship in 2004. He is currently competing in the Formula 3 Euroseries.  Vettel completed 83 laps without any problems.   Robert Kubica mainly concentrated on evaluating new aerodynamic parts, and he also did a tyre test for Michelin.  He finished prematurely due to a mechanical problem.

What comes next: Tomorrow, Robert will continue to drive while Jacques Villeneuve will take over from Sebastian. Nick Heidfeld, who was initially scheduled to drive, changed his plans due to a muscle twinge in his neck after his crash in Indianapolis.

Sebastian Vettel: “This was obviously a special opportunity for me, but I just tried to take it easy and concentrate on my job. The whole day went really well. I was able to complete many laps without any problems. I learned a lot, particularly on tyres. That’s a very complex issue in Formula One, because they change a lot over a run and one has to adapt the driving style. It’s clear that I cannot exploit the whole potential of the car yet, but that seems to be a matter of time. I‘m happy with the day.”

Times:

1 P. de la Rosa  McLaren   1:17.785   116 laps
2 H. Kovalainen  Renault   1:18.040   115 laps
3 F. Alonso  Renault   1:18.120   97 laps
4 A. Davidson  Honda   1:18.223   110 laps
5 A. Wurz  Williams   1:18.539   103 laps
6 R. Kubica  BMW   1:18.608   67 laps
7 R. Zonta  Toyota   1:18.743   99 laps
8 G. Paffett  McLaren   1:18.892   88 laps
9 O. Panis  Toyota   1:19.059   85 laps
10 R. Barrichello  Honda   1:19.387   46 laps
11 R. Doornbos  Red Bull   1:19.542   32 laps
12 S. Vettel  BMW   1:19.597   82 laps