Saturday: BMW-Sauber is satisfied with its qualification

The various accidents that occurred during the qualifying extended it to a duration of nearly 90 minutes instead of the usual one hour. The second part of the session, in particular, saw two red flags and yellow flags at the end, which played an important role in the final results. Nick Heidfeld managed to reach Q3 unlike his teammate, and after another interruption, he positioned himself in sixth place for the start of the race tomorrow.

For his part, Robert Kubica questions the events of the qualification and believes that the various flags waved ruined his chances of a good starting position on tomorrow’s grid. He will start from the thirteenth position if one does not consider the possible penalties that could be imposed on Button, Barrichello, and Sutil. All three set their best times under yellow flag conditions. BMW-Sauber, however, is satisfied with Nick Heidfeld’s sixth place and can aim for points tomorrow.

Nick Heidfeld – 12th and 4th (6th fastest):

I am happy with my performance in qualifying. I really had a very good lap in Q3. I wasn’t very optimistic for qualifying because during the free practice this morning, I struggled with the settings and had to make a compromise. In Q2, I saw the yellow flags, I slightly lifted my foot off the accelerator pedal and raised my hand to indicate that I had reduced my speed when I needed to. I was slower by a few tenths. It was a strange qualifying session. I’ve never experienced anything like it before, with so many crashes, and I hope Timo [Glock] is okay.

Robert Kubica – 17th and 9th (13th time):

«My qualifying session was totally disappointing. All of my quick laps were ruined by yellow or red flags. During the fifteen minutes, we were not able to complete a single fast lap. Starting from the thirteenth position is far from ideal for tomorrow. Suzuka is a fantastic track, but overtaking is not easy here. That’s how it is. I also hope Timo [Glock] is okay. I wish him the best.

Mario Theissen – Team Director:

I have never witnessed a qualification with five accidents despite excellent weather conditions. First of all, we hope that Timo Glock is not suffering from any injuries.

«Several red flags influenced the outcome of our qualifications. In the second part of the session, Robert and Nick had to cancel their fast laps. Nick still managed to barely make it into the top 10, while Robert had to stop in Q2. After the last interruption during Q3, Nick succeeded in qualifying in sixth position. It’s a good starting position for tomorrow’s race. »