Spanish GP: Qualifying - BMW Sauber F1 Team

BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Nick Heidfeld qualified tenth in Barcelona. His team-mate, Jacques Villeneuve, will start from the back of the grid with a fresh engine for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Nick Heidfeld:
BMW Sauber F1.06-02/BMW P86
Qualifying: 10th, 1:17.144 min (3rd practice 3rd, 1:16.057 min)
I am happy to be in the top ten as the lap times are quite close. I think it would have been difficult to beat the other cars in front of us, and even though I lost some time with Ralf in front, honestly I don't think it would have changed anything regarding my position. The set up was fine on one lap, and I hope we can see the same tomorrow over a race distance. The balance of the car changed, and it was quite different for all three outings.

Jacques Villeneuve:
BMW Sauber F1.06-03/BMW P86
Qualifying: 14th, 1:15.847 min (3rd practice 17th, 1:17.924 min)
The first run went very easily and the balance was very good, but then the wind picked up and the car's balance changed. We still concentrated for the set-up on what we need for the race with high fuel and all that. We were not at the optimum for qualifying, but I was still expecting better than that.

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
Once again it was very tight. After the first part of qualifying there was less than a second between first and 14th places. In the second part the first 11 drivers were within one second of each other. For us we had different strategies. It was clear Jacques would not be able to start in the top ten because of the engine change. For Nick we concentrated on getting him into the top ten, which is exactly what he achieved. On his first lap he got stuck in traffic which cost him quite a lot of time. What his starting position will be worth compared to the opposition we will see tomorrow at the first pit stop. Technically the cars ran problem free. As Jacques is starting from the last row anyway, we will fit another fresh engine to give him the best possible chances for here and Monaco.

Willy Rampf (Technical Director Chassis):
Getting one car into the third qualifying session is positive as this gives us a good platform to start the race from. How good this tenth place will end up being we cannot say, as we don't know everyone's different strategies. Jacques was very good in first qualifying. Not doing so well in the second session hasn't played a very big role in his weekend, as he has to go back ten places anyway because we have changed his engine.



BMW Sauber F1 Team
13 May 2006

Qualifying

1 Fernando Alonso Renault F1 Team Michelin 1:15.816 1:15.124 1:14.648
2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault F1 Team Michelin 1:16.046 1:14.766 1:14.709
3 Michael Schumacher Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Bridgestone 1:16.049 1:14.637 1:14.970
4 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Bridgestone 1:16.359 1:15.245 1:15.442
5 Rubens Barrichello Honda Racing F1 Michelin 1:16.266 1:15.258 1:16.266
6 Ralf Schumacher Panasonic Toyota Racing Bridgestone 1:16.234 1:15.164 1:15.885
7 Jarno Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing Bridgestone 1:16.174 1:15.068 1:15.976
8 Jenson Button Honda Racing F1 Michelin 1:16.054 1:15.150 1:16.008
9 Kimi Räikkönen Mclaren Mercedes Michelin 1:16.613 1:15.422 1:16.015
10 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Michelin 1:16.322 1:15.468 1:17.144
11 Mark Webber WilliamsF1 Bridgestone 1:16.685 1:15.502
12 Juan Pablo Montoya Mclaren Mercedes Michelin 1:16.195 1:15.801
13 Nico Rosberg WilliamsF1 Bridgestone 1:17.213 1:15.804
14 Jacques Villeneuve BMW Sauber F1 Michelin 1:16.066 1:15.847
15 Christian Klien Red Bull Racing Michelin 1:16.627 1:15.928
16 Vitantonio Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso Michelin 1:17.105 1:16.661
17 Scott Speed Scuderia Toro Rosso Michelin 1:17.361
18 Tiago Monteiro Midland F1 Racing Bridgestone 1:17.702
19 Christijan Albers Midland F1 Racing Bridgestone 1:18.024
20 Takuma Sato Super Aguri F1 Brigestone 1:18.920
21 Franck Montagny Super Aguri F1 Bridgestone 1:20.763
22 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing Michelin

BUDAPEST, Aug 7 (Reuters) - BMW Sauber parted company with Jacques Villeneuve on Monday after replacing the 1997 Formula One world champion with Poland's Robert Kubica for the Hungarian Grand Prix a day earlier.

The team said the Canadian would not drive for them again this season, a decision that looks sure to end the 35-year-old's grand prix career after 163 races and 11 victories.


"Following discussions last week, Jacques Villeneuve and the BMW Sauber F1 team agreed to terminate their current contract with immediate effect five races ahead of schedule," the team said in a statement.

BMW team boss Mario Theissen thanked Villeneuve for his contribution in the German carmaker's first season since they bought Sauber last year, but said a recent accident had prompted the team to review the situation.

"Jacques has performed well for us this year, scoring the team's first grand prix points in Malaysia," he said.

"However, after Jacques's accident in the Hockenheim race, the team decided to review its options for next year, including assessing Robert Kubica in a race environment.

"Our decision to look towards evaluating our driver line-up has naturally impacted Jacques' position for the remainder of this season.

Robert Kubica has been disqualified from the results of the Hungarian Grand Prix after his BMW Sauber was found to be underweight following the race. Kubica had finished seventh on his Formula One debut.

Stewards praised the "assistance and cooperation" they received from the BMW Sauber team, who proved that Kubica's car was inadvertently 2 kilograms below the minimum requirement because of "excessive and unexpected tyre wear (and therefore weight loss) through continued use of wet-weather tyres in comparison to the accustomed and anticipated rate of wear of dry tyres."

The stewards nevertheless had no choice but to exclude the car as it did not comply with Article 4.1 of the Technical Regulations. BMW Sauber did not contest the decision. It means Felipe Massa moves up to seventh place, with Michael Schumacher now classified eighth, despite not finishing the race.

The point Schumacher scores means he is now just ten behind Fernando Alonso in the drivers' championship standings, while Ferrari are only seven behind Renault in the race for the constructors' crown.

any picture of it..

really hoping if alonso might joining bmw