The objective remains unchanged for BMW

BMW-Sauber will maintain its development pace throughout the season, despite a slight drop in performance compared to its main competitors, Ferrari and McLaren, observed over the past few Grand Prix.

The team based in Hinwil had to face a disastrous Hungarian Grand Prix where they severely lacked pace.

Its current third place in the constructors’ championship might convince it to abandon the development work on the 2008 car. Efforts would then be directed towards the F1.09. The director of BMW Motorsport, Mario Theissen, insists that the entire team will continue to focus on this year.

Speaking about the objectives for the rest of the season, Theissen stated: « The first thing is to understand the issues that caused us so much trouble in Hungary. This assessment will guide our work in the upcoming weeks.

« We will certainly continue the development of the F1.08, there is no doubt about that, but we must first understand what happened in Hungary. »

« After such a great start to the season and scoring so many points, it’s impossible that the other teams have improved that much. »

Theissen said he was surprised by what happened in the race where Kubica dropped from fourth place to eighth.

« What happened on Sunday was totally unexpected, we didn’t see it coming. We were just slow but really slow! » Continued the German.

The initial data showed that there was nothing broken on the car. Both drivers complained of a lack of rear stability.

« The tires are to blame. The situation was very difficult for both drivers throughout the race and with both tire compounds. »