Silverstone: The situation prior to the Race

For the first time this season, Nick Heidfeld will stand ahead of his team-mate Robert Kubica, on a Grand Prix starting grid. For the German BMW Sauber F1 Team driver, the qualifying session at Silverstone proved to be a complete success. .

- Nick will start the ninth Grand Prix of the season from fifth position on the grid, alongside Renault's Fernando Alonso, while Robert will share the fifth row of the grid with Felipe Massa when the race at the "Silverstone Circuit" gets underway on Sunday at 13:00hrs BST (14:00hrs CEST).

- Never before has Nick secured a better grid position at Silverstone than this year. To date, his best position on a British Grand Prix starting grid was the ninth he secured in the past two years and 2001.

- It is the third time this year that Nick has qualified fifth. In Australia he finished runner-up and in Malaysia he also scored World Championship points by coming home sixth.

- For Robert, the race at Silverstone will be his 31st Grand Prix while Nick is contesting his 143rd Formula One race this weekend.

- Nick is contesting his ninth Formula One race in Great Britain this weekend at Silverstone. His best British GP result to date was the sixth place he secured in 2001 and 2002 for the Sauber Team as well as in 2007 for the BMW Sauber F1 Team.

- For Robert, it's only his second British Grand Prix. Last year, the Pole finished fourth at Silverstone.

- Silverstone seems to be a good venue for Nick. Only once in his career to date has he failed to make it to the finish line: in 2000 when he still was racing for Team Prost.

- In the team-internal qualifying battle of the two BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers, Nick has reduced Robert's lead to 8:1