It was an unusual practice day for BMW Sauber because of huge aerodynamic upgrades to the car. The team were not going for glory laps and not concerned where they stood in the final time charts. Today was a day to learn about the car and go right to the beginning to find a basic setup.

I believe that if this new aero package does improve the car, then this weekend will be just one step one the way back to respectability.

Robert Kubica

“Today was a special Friday because we have a lot of new aerodynamic parts on the car. We spent quite some time working on the set-up and tried different things. We now have to analyse the data so we can exploit the potential of the car to its maximum. In addition, as usual on the Friday, we compared the two tyre compounds, but it was very soon obvious the option specification gives better performance.”

Nick Heidfeld

“Unfortunately I lost some time this morning when we had a couple of problems during the first free practice session. Only at the end was I able to work properly on the programme. That was a shame because with such a new package and, for me, driving the car for the first time without the KERS, track time is especially important. Considering the small amount of mileage from the morning, we made quite good progress when preparing the car for the second session, and I think there is room for more improvement.”

Willy Rampf (Head of Engineering)

“We have come to Barcelona with a comprehensive aerodynamic package. To find a basic set-up was today’s main task. A first evaluation of the aero data shows we made a step forward. Now we are curious about the first real comparison in Saturday’s qualifying to see where we really stand in relation to the competitors. Because of a brake problem Nick completed less laps in the morning than planned. As usual we concentrated on race preparation.”