Singapore Grand Prix Race Report Part 1: BMW Sauber

The race started well for both Nick and Robert and Nick showed some grit when he fought off Heikki Kovalainen to defend his 4th position in turn 3 of the first lap and then moved passed Nico Rosberg for 8th position.

What happened after that spelled disaster for Kubica. Nelson Piquet Jr. spun and hit the wall on lap 15 bringing out the safety car for the first time in the race. Pit lane closed and no one was aloud to pit, but Robert was dangerously low on fuel and ended up being forced to pit during this pit closed period. It was either that or run out of fuel out on the track. This being against the rules, Robert was assessed a 10 second stop and go penalty and that spelled the end of a good result for Robert.

After serving the penalty on lap 28 he rejoined the race in 18th place. He did manage to fight himself back up to 11th place with help of retirements and others pitting at inopportune times. This was very disappointing considering his fine weekend otherwise and great 4th place qualifying.

As I watched the race and followed live timing from Formula 1, the penalty seemed to take the wind out of Robert’s sails and his pace wasn’t near what it was earlier on. He was stuck behind a slow Giancarlo Fisichella and simply wasn’t able to pass him until many laps later, but really he should have been able to do this much earlier considering his superior car and especially when others were passing cars left and right. Turn 7 ended up being the favorite place to pass on the circuit.

Nick Heidfeld managed to make it through until the pit was open again and quickly came in with just about everyone else, but lost 4 positions after rejoining the race. He drove a very strong and consistent race from then on working himself back up to his eventual 6th place finish. He himself felt he had a fast and stable car, but was stuck behind slower traffic and lost badly as a result.

Here’s Nick and Robert’s comments on the race:

Nick Heidfeld:

“Although I shouldn’t complain about finishing sixth when I came from ninth, I must say it is such a shame I couldn’t show my pace today. The car was so good and I could have gone a lot faster if I hadn’t been stuck in traffic all the time. I was even saving fuel and tyres because I hoped the others would kill their tyres and I could attack later. I think some did ruin their rubber, but still this wasn’t enough of an advantage to overtake. I had a good start during which I managed to pass Nico Rosberg. However, because of how the race turned out for me I hardly sweated at all.”

Robert Kubica:

“The race was physically very hard. There are so many bumps, I hope the organisers will work on the surface for next year. On top of that, the visibility was getting worse and worse as I was getting tired. Over the final fifteen laps I had an incredible headache. The decision not to pit on the first lap when the pit lane was closed because of the Safety Car was unlucky, and cost me a good race result as the cars behind me closed the gap. The team thought the pit lane would reopen very soon, but this was not the case. However, that’s racing.”