bmwf1blog

Robert Kubica is still a kid at heart and has set up his own karting team.. In between public appearances and December testing he managed to find time to put the final details on his new project.

Read on my friend, read on →

If you're new here, why not subscribe to my RSS feed and keep up with the BMW Sauber F1 news anywhere! You can also sign up in the left side bar for a monthly newsletter wrap up.

The 101 points in 2007 with a very good F1.07 once again had the designers and engineers working overtime to produce an even better car and aerodynamics and balance were once again at the top of the list.

“Our aim was to build a car with impressive aerodynamic efficiency, but which also boasted a very stable aero balance,” he said. “This means that it hardly loses any downforce when the wheels are turned in, and thus gives the driver a lot of confidence.”

Read on my friend, read on →

2007 was an even bigger test now that they had to design the car from scratch rather than work from the previous Sauber car they inherited. As well, Bridgestone, the only tire supplier after the withdrawal of Michelin and not the tires the f1.06 was designed for produce tires known to allow the car to slide around more. This had engineers and aero people shaking their heads a bit in effort to gain balance and stability in the F1.07 through corners. Engine, gearbox and seamless shifting were also new additions to the car.

Read on my friend, read on →

It’s the end of another era in F1, the era of expensive wind tunnels and complicated aerodynamic improvements. No more funky antlers (horns, dumbo ears), winglets, flexible front wings, noses with holes in them etc. In 2009 this drive for the perfect aerodynamic car is all but over with the introduction of new and dramatic rules.

I will put up 3 posts in the next few days dedicated to the F1.0- series from 2006 to 2008. Starting with the F1.06, here’s the first.

Read on my friend, read on →

• A lot of Competition for BMW Sauber in 2009
  Posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 in Team News - Comments: (3)
  Can BMW Sauber challenge for the championship next year with either Robert Kubica or Nick Heidfeld? A better question I ask myself is what will the competition be like? We know 2009 is a new year with incredible rule changes that may or may not affect some teams level of competitiveness.I am not really worried about the grid hierarchy changing in 2009 and in that respect can BMW Sauber challenge for the championship in only their 4th year?
• BMW Confirms Commitment to F1
  Posted on Friday, December 5th, 2008 in Team News - Comments: (6)
  Statement from Dr. Klaus Draeger, member of the BMW AG Board of Management on Honda withdrawal from Formula One .”It is with regret that we learnt of Honda’s decision. It has no bearing on BMW’s involvement in Formula One.Our F1 involvement is an integral part of the company strategy. There is no better platform than Formula One for demonstrating our brand values.
• Could it Have Been Avoided?
  Posted on Friday, December 5th, 2008 in Featured F1 News - Comments: (5)
  The news of Honda pulling out of F1 has shocked the motorsports world this morning, but as we know, this has been brewing for a while now and indications something was wrong came to light in the last week when the team frantically began cutting what seemed like frivolous events. Yesterday many other F1 teams saw a rash of requests for employment from employees of Honda F1 so the writing was on the wall then.
• Nick Heidfeld - Slicks the Difference Not Aero
  Posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 in 2008-2009 Winter Testing - Comments: (3)
  The new aero rules have for the most part centered our attention to the shovel like front wing and the high narrow rear wing and are what us fans are talking about the most. KERS is another new addition talked about quite a bit and rounding up the talk is slicks. According to Nick Heidfeld, slicks are the biggest difference in handling of the car and not the new aero package.
• Should BMW or Mercedes Bail Out the German Grand Prix?
  Posted on Thursday, December 4th, 2008 in Featured F1 News - Comments: (4)
  BMW as well as the other car manufacturers involved in F1 have been under the gun to help bail out grand prix hosts and they’re not buying it.I’ve talked at length about the Canadian Grand Prix troubles lately and with good reason. I felt that the cancellation was unjust and I had an idea that other hosts may follow the same lead and raise doubt in how races are financed and so far they have.

F1 is quiet now and even Bernie and Max seem to be behaving.

Thanx to all of my viewers and have a Merry Christmas everyone, a great holiday and an even better new year.

There’s no question KERS is worth a lot in terms of money, but in race safety, race implementation and usefulness, and the continuous build up in development costs, is KERS really worth the effort?

Recently Robert Kubica voiced his opinion on how he feels about KERS and the possibility it may actually hinder him. Sebastian Vettel spoke up about weather it is safe or not. No one really seems to know if it is. Ferrari have broken their budget on the development of KERS and it’s race value hasn’t even been measured.

Read on my friend, read on →

Still miles away from the next season and the teams are putting their KERS powered cars on test tracks more and more with some reported good success. However, a few things of note are beginning to peek their heads up. First is Ferrari who have admittedly gone over budget on their KERS development in a time where cost cutting is on everyone’s minds.

Read on my friend, read on →

For the third and final day of testing the BMW Sauber F1 Team used two interim cars, which were based on the 2008 chassis with some of the bodywork from the 2009 regulations. In Jerez the team came as close as could be to the test kilometres and sets of tyres allocated for the 2008 testing season.

In the morning Christian Klien drove the KERS’ equipped F1.08B. Working on different energy strategies, the team continued the development work as scheduled.

“We made good progress today”, Klien said. “We still have a lot of work to do on the KERS system. But the promising test results show we are moving in the right direction.”

Robert Kubica in the sister car, but without KERS, tried numerous set-up solutions aiming to improve on the results from using the new slick tyres. For the afternoon session, according to the plan, he switched to the KERS’ equipped car, but due to a mechanical failure he had to abandon the scheduled programme. Kubica then got back into the conventional F1.08B and continued testing for the rest of the day.

What comes next:
This concludes the 2008 testing season for the BMW Sauber F1 Team.

Robert Kubica
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.08B-06 / BMW 86/9
Test kilometres today: 443 km (100 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:19.013 min

Christian Klien
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.08B-03 / BMW 86/9 KERS
Test kilometres today: 169 km (38 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:19.066 min

The BMW Sauber F1 Team again ran two F1.08B interim cars that are based on the 2008 chassis with some of the bodywork from the 2009 regulations. While Nick Heidfeld used a conventional car, Robert Kubica continued the development work with BMW’s own KERS device. Both drivers started their test programmes nearly two hours late due to the cold morning temperatures.

After the sun had heated up the track, Heidfeld and Kubica worked on the set-up of their respective cars. The main goal again was collecting data in preparation for the 2009 season. Kubica concentrated on energy strategies while using the KERS system. Heidfeld evaluated different solutions for the mechanical set-up of the car, while the team collected more information on the new slick tyres.

“After the delay in the morning the weather was nearly perfect, so overall it was a good day for me“, Heidfeld said after completing 85 laps. “I did short as well as long runs to compare tyre wear. At the end of the session I did some race start simulations, as this is also an area where we have to adjust to the slick tyres.”

What comes next:
The BMW Sauber F1 Team will continue testing in Jerez tomorrow. Robert Kubica and Christian Klien will be on duty.

Robert Kubica
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.08B-03 / BMW 86/9 KERS
Test kilometres today: 271 km (61 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:20.006 min

Nick Heidfeld
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.08B-06 / BMW 86/9
Test kilometres today: 377 km (85 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:19.303 min