Saturday – Heidfeld secures his place at BMW

The good results on the BMW-Sauber side came from where few expected them. And for good reason, on this Saturday, it was Nick Heidfeld who first dominated the free practice session 3 this morning and then once again delivered a strong performance in qualifying.

The German will start from 5th place tomorrow while his teammate, Robert Kubica, is only 8th. It’s only the second time this season that Heidfeld has beaten his teammate in qualifying.

Nick Heidfeld – 1st and 5th:

« I am happy with this result in qualifying. For me, the weekend is going well at the moment. Yesterday, I wasn’t bad, this morning, I was the fastest and finally the fifth place in qualifying, which is actually the best possible result. For me, it’s very important to see that the work we’ve done is paying off. A few weeks ago, we found solutions to certain problems and currently the improvement is very real even though the race in Valencia was surprisingly bad.

« Then, last week at the Monza tests, we were able to learn something more. I have the feeling that we are a bit closer to McLaren and Ferrari. However, I think it will be very difficult to keep up with their pace during the race. Tomorrow, the weather conditions will be a determining factor. »

Robert Kubica – 13th and 8th:

« The qualifying sessions were difficult for me even though the conditions were better today compared to yesterday. The track was completely dry but I had issues with the balance of my car. This makes driving very difficult, especially here at Spa where there are big corners. »

Mario Theissen – BMW Motorsport Director:

« I am satisfied with today’s performance. With the changing weather conditions, it was not easy to make the right decisions. However, we saw this morning that we were able to make a big step forward. Nick Heidfeld confirmed this feeling with, in addition, a significant fuel load onboard. He is now in a strong position for the race. As for Robert Kubica, he was not able to complete a perfect lap. »