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A New Begining for BMW Sauber Starting in Turkey
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After 2 major upgrades to the F1.09 which included a new aero package for Spain, and now more updates to the aero with the addition of a ‘first situation’ double diffuser in Turkey, the results are beginning to show. All you need to do is look at sector times as compared to any of the previous 3 or 4 grand prix to see the difference. The season is not lost, not yet. The championship may be, but respect as a contender once again is not.
The Turkish Grand Prix itself was an exciting race for BMW Sauber in that Kubica and Heidfeld’s starting grid positions were far better than we would have hoped for without this weekends upgrades if they hadn’t had an effect. 10th and 11th on the grid were a major lift to previous frustration and anguish and set the stage for a much better race and indeed that is what we BMW Sauber fans got.
Turkish Grand Prix Results – Button Once Again
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| Position | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Points |
| 1 | Jenson Button | Brawn GP | 58 | Winner | 10 |
| 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 58 | +6.7 secs | 8 |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 58 | +7.4 secs | 6 |
| 4 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 58 | +27.8 secs | 5 |
| 5 | Nico Rosberg | Williams | 58 | +31.5 secs | 4 |
| 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 58 | +39.9 secs | 3 |
| 7 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 58 | +46.2 secs | 2 |
| 8 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 58 | +46.9 secs | 1 |
| 9 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 58 | +50.2 secs | |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 58 | +62.4 secs | |
| 11 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 58 | +64.3 secs | |
| 12 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams | 58 | +66.3 secs | |
| 13 | Lewis Hamilton | Renault | 58 | +80.4 secs | |
| 14 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren | 57 | +1 Lap | |
| 15 | Sebastien Buemi | Toro Rosso | 57 | +1 Lap | |
| 16 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | Renault | 57 | +1 Lap | |
| 17 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 57 | +1 Lap | |
| 18 | Sebastien Bourdais | Toro Rosso | 57 | +1 Lap | |
| 19 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn Gp | +11 Lap | dnf | |
| 20 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India | +54 Laps | dnf |
New Diffuser and Aero Package Improve BMW Sauber
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With a new diffuser and modifications to the overall aero package we have finally seen some serious improvements to the F1.09. For both Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, qualifying for the Turkish Grand Prix was the best they have had since Australia where Kubica qualified 4th and Heidfeld 11th. Starting with the practice sessions it was clear the gap between them and the rest of the competitive field had shrunk to an attainable level. Kubica was the most productive in the way of lap times throughout the sessions, but Heidfeld collected valuable setup data that paid off for qualifying.
Turkish Grand Prix Friday Free Practice Sessions 1&2
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| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Nico Rosberg | Williams | 1m 28.952s |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren | 1m 29.263s |
| 3 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 1m 29.271s |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1m 29.337s |
| 5 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1m 29.342s |
| 6 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams | 1m 29.371s |
| 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1m 29.398s |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1m 29.422s |
| 9 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn GP | 1m 29.525s |
| 10 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren | 1m 29.590s |
| 11 | Jenson Button | Brawn GP | 1m 29.747s |
| 12 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 1m 29.864s |
| 13 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 1m 29.934s |
| 14 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | Renault | 1m 30.132s |
| 15 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 1m 30.176s |
| 16 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 1m 30.645s |
| 17 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 1m 30.669s |
| 18 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India | 1m 30.729s |
| 19 | Sebastien Bourdais | Toro Rosso | 1m 30.838s |
| 20 | Sebastien Buemi | Toro Rosso | 1m 30.944s |
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren | 1m 28.841s |
| 2 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1m 28.847s |
| 3 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 1m 29.056s |
| 4 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams | 1m 29.091s |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1m 29.202s |
| 6 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 1m 29.207s |
| 7 | Nico Rosberg | Williams | 1m 29.257s |
| 8 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn GP | 1m 29.305s |
| 9 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 1m 29.383s |
| 10 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | Renault | 1m 29.401s |
| 11 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1m 29.416s |
| 12 | Jenson Burron | Brawn GP | 1m 29.430s |
| 13 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren | 1m 29.435s |
| 14 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 1m 29.518s |
| 15 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1m 29.520s |
| 16 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 1m 29.550s |
| 17 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 1m 30.081s |
| 18 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India | 1m 30.091s |
| 19 | Sebastien Bourdais | Toro Rosso | 1m 30.295s |
| 20 | Sebastien Buemi | Toro Rosso | 1m 30.629s |
No KERS for BMW Sauber in Turkey
By · CommentsThis weekend in Turkey is probably the most important weekend for all season for the team. It’s sort of a do or die weekend where they could really move up the grid or wallow in the back without much hope of recovery. I’m hoping for the first scenario as I hope you are.
As I mentioned earlier in a post, BMW Sauber is bringing another aero package in conjunction with the first major upgrade introduced in Barcelona. This one includes the new multi level diffuser that with any luck will improve their pace quite a bit. For the last few races the team has elected not to use their KERS system and it was thought they would re introduce it this weekend in Turkey, but that is not the case. One step at a time they say and just as in Barcelona they want to evaluate the aero package before they complicate it with KERS.
Double Decker Confirmed in Turkey for BMW Sauber
By · CommentsIn just a week now the BMW Sauber team will be ready in Turkey with their next upgrade package for the F1.09 and it does include their version of a double decker diffuser. This has been a long time in coming because with the ban on testing and the fact that the F1.09 was never designed for this type of diffuser, a lot of new work had to be done.
Dear motorsport enthusiasts,
It goes without saying that everyone at the BMW Sauber F1 Team had envisaged the Monaco Grand Prix turning out very differently to what it did. However, what hinted at being a problem in Thursday’s first free practice session set the tone for the entire race weekend, from qualifying to the end of the race. We could not keep the tyres at the optimal operating temperature in Monaco, which resulted in us clearly being to slow.
Leaving Monaco in the Past and on to Turkey
By · CommentsBack in the early part of March just before the Australian Grand Prix, I would have imagined writing some pretty great things about the BMW Sauber team. Commenting on wins, podiums, how close either Kubica or Heidfeld would be to a championship challenge etc. How things change in just a short time however and now it’s just the opposite wondering when or if there will even be another podium finish this season.
Approaching the Spanish Grand Prix, I had some hope that the upgrades scheduled for release would improve the team fairly dramatically. Well realism stepped in when the improvement was minimal, but there. Afterall BMW Sauber were not the only team to introduce upgrades which limited the effectiveness of what the team had achieved. That meant to me that any more possible gains would have to wait until Turkey and that Monaco would be another washout and it was.