Saturday: BMW struggling

Saturday’s qualifying session was quite exceptional in terms of twists and turns. Until the end of the session, uncertainty remained on the faces of the Formula 1 drivers who had reached Q3, as they didn’t know who had set the fastest time due to a computer failure. However, the BMW drivers had already finished their session since the end of Q1.

Heidfeld didn’t confirm his good position from this morning’s free practice and qualified in 16th place for Sunday. Kubica struggled throughout the Q1 session and will start from 19th position, just ahead of new driver Jaime Alguersuari, who will be racing in his first Grand Prix.

Nick Heidfeld – 2nd and 16th (15th after Massa’s withdrawal):

« Today’s result is a real disappointment. I was hoping to get into the top 10. Having the second-fastest time in free practice this morning wasn’t a benchmark. My first outing in Q1 confirmed this morning’s performance. I was the 6th fastest at one point. But then, everything went wrong during my second outing. I didn’t have a very clean track for my lap, which is why I didn’t set a good time. On my second lap, I had Kazuki Nakajima in front of me, but I couldn’t slow down because of Rubens Barrichello right behind. It wasn’t enough to go into Q2. »

Robert Kubica – 11th and 19th (18th after Massa’s withdrawal):

« We were a bit unlucky in qualifying. I had a yellow flag on my first flying lap of my second attempt. On my second and final flying lap, I had two cars right in front of me. So I lost a lot of time. This result is very disappointing. I’ll try my best tomorrow, but realistically, it will be a very tough race. »

Mario Theissen – Team Principal :

« It was a disappointing qualifying session. Looking at our performances during this morning’s free practice, we could have placed among the best in Q3. Due to what happened on the track, our drivers were not able to exploit the car’s potential. We all hope that Felipe Massa has not sustained serious injuries in his accident. »