For the third time this season the BMW Sauber F1 Team progressed on its own merit with both cars into the top ten session for the grid. Robert Kubica qualified seventh for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Nick Heidfeld was eighth. Therefore the team, with at least one car, has taken part in the top ten qualifying session in ten out of this season's 17.
Robert Kubica:
BMW Sauber F1.09-08 / BMW P86/9 Qualifying 7th, 1:41.992 min in Q3 (3rd Free Practice: 8th, 1:41.322 min) "Unfortunately I missed yesterday's second free practice session. As a result I had no experience of the track conditions at this time of day. The conditions were completely different compared to the third free practice session. The lower temperatures had quite a big effect on the car's balance. In the end qualifying in seventh is quite ok and I am optimistic that we can fight for points tomorrow."
Nick Heidfeld:
BMW Sauber F1.09-07 / BMW P86/9 Qualifying 8th, 1:42.343 min in Q3 (3rd Free Practice: 5th, 1:41.241min)
"I think my eighth position is alright. On the last lap there was a small chance to improve, but I had traffic with Mark Webber in front of me, and anyway there is no guarantee this lap would have been faster. If I take the fuel load into account, I'm happy with my grid position although I only really know the fuel load for our cars. The tyres seem to last here remarkably well, which means it could pay off if you stay out for longer. The light from the setting sun was a bit brighter than yesterday, but the circuit is built in such a way that you have to deal with it in only one corner, which anyway is flat. For our last race tomorrow I hope for all of us we can achieve a good result with points for both cars."
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
"The outcome of qualifying is more or less what we expected. It was good to see both our cars made it quite safely into the top ten. In the final part of qualifying the field was very close together again. However we ended seventh and eighth. Now it will be important to see when the first pit stops will take place. Technically today everything went without any problems."
Willy Rampf (Head of Engineering):
"For our team it was a qualifying without any special excitement. Our result reflects quite accurately where we stand with our performance. As early as Q1 it was clear we had a very good chance to make it into Q3, and that finally happened. With the fuel load our drivers have on board we should be able to score a good result in the last race for the BMW Sauber F1 Team."
Robert Kubica:
BMW Sauber F1.09-08 / BMW P86/9 Qualifying 7th, 1:41.992 min in Q3 (3rd Free Practice: 8th, 1:41.322 min) "Unfortunately I missed yesterday's second free practice session. As a result I had no experience of the track conditions at this time of day. The conditions were completely different compared to the third free practice session. The lower temperatures had quite a big effect on the car's balance. In the end qualifying in seventh is quite ok and I am optimistic that we can fight for points tomorrow."
Nick Heidfeld:
BMW Sauber F1.09-07 / BMW P86/9 Qualifying 8th, 1:42.343 min in Q3 (3rd Free Practice: 5th, 1:41.241min)
"I think my eighth position is alright. On the last lap there was a small chance to improve, but I had traffic with Mark Webber in front of me, and anyway there is no guarantee this lap would have been faster. If I take the fuel load into account, I'm happy with my grid position although I only really know the fuel load for our cars. The tyres seem to last here remarkably well, which means it could pay off if you stay out for longer. The light from the setting sun was a bit brighter than yesterday, but the circuit is built in such a way that you have to deal with it in only one corner, which anyway is flat. For our last race tomorrow I hope for all of us we can achieve a good result with points for both cars."
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
"The outcome of qualifying is more or less what we expected. It was good to see both our cars made it quite safely into the top ten. In the final part of qualifying the field was very close together again. However we ended seventh and eighth. Now it will be important to see when the first pit stops will take place. Technically today everything went without any problems."
Willy Rampf (Head of Engineering):
"For our team it was a qualifying without any special excitement. Our result reflects quite accurately where we stand with our performance. As early as Q1 it was clear we had a very good chance to make it into Q3, and that finally happened. With the fuel load our drivers have on board we should be able to score a good result in the last race for the BMW Sauber F1 Team."
