The situation prior to Race. Game over for Kubica?

Nick Heidfeld will start this year's Chinese Grand Prix ninth. Despite starting from eleventh position on the grid, a glance at the 2008 season record book demonstrates that Robert can secure a good result nonetheless .

- Having secured ninth position on the grid, Nick will start the 17th Grand Prix of the season from row five, alongside Nelson Piquet jr (Renault). Meanwhile, Robert will share row six with Toyota's Timo Glock. Both BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers gained a position, compared to their qualifying results, as Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber - who qualified sixth - received a ten-position grid penalty for an engine change.

- In the Chinese Grands Prix Nick has contested as BMW Sauber F1 Team driver to date, the 31-year old has always qualified eighth and finished seventh.

- Although only eleventh on the grid, Robert can also achieve a good race result. Only once in his career to date, in the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, has he held this position on the grid - and he made it to the podium by finishing third.

- In the team-internal qualifying battle of the BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers, Nick has reduced Robert's lead to 13:4.

- At Shanghai, Robert is contesting his 39th Formula One race, while for Nick it's his 151st Grand Prix.

Saturday factbox:

 Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica aren't the only drivers attracting attention on Shanghai's racetrack. After all, the Formula BMW Pacific young guns also contest a race weekend, in the support programme of the Chinese Grand Prix. We have put together some interesting facts on day two in Shanghai.

Rain in Shanghai: It has rained on both the BMW Sauber F1 Team's previous trips to China. Meteorologists are also predicting rain in Shanghai this weekend. However, temperatures on the Sunday should range between a summery 25 and 27º C.

World Championship hopefuls: Three drivers and three teams go into the Chinese Grand Prix still with a chance of claiming the World Championship title: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren, 84 points), Felipe Massa (Ferrari, 79) and Robert Kubica (72) could still win the Drivers' Championship, while Ferrari (142), McLaren (138) and the BMW Sauber F1 Team (128) are still in the running for the Constructors' Championship. Only Hamilton and Ferrari could potentially secure the World Championship titles in Shanghai.

Young guns going for it: In addition to the Formula One drivers, the young Formula BMW Pacific talents also contest races at the "Shanghai International Circuit", this weekend. In the qualifying session, Hong Kong's Ross Jamison secured pole position. Should the 18-year-old experience a successful race weekend he even could secure the 2008 Formula BMW Pacific title early.

Run of points: Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica can continue an impressive sequence in China: at least one of the BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers has finished in the points at each of the last 33 Grands Prix. This is the longest current sequence in Formula One, and the longest run of points in the history of the team from Munich and Hinwil.

Goodbye to Magny-Cours: Away from the Chinese Grand Prix, the future of the race in France is under the spotlight. Nicolas Deschaux, President of the French Motorsports Federation FFSA, explained that his association was unable to finance the Formula One race. Therefore, the race in Magny-Cours will not take place in 2009.