BMW Sauber struggles in Malay Practice1

By BMW Sauber F1
April 3 2009

As is usually the case in the Friday morning sessions of a Grand Prix weekend, the BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, focused solely on their race preparations. In the end, Robert secured 13th position on the time sheets, with Nick finishing 18th.

The first practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix was held in tropical heat under blue skies, with the temperatures reaching 31° C. Surprisingly, the BMW Sauber F1 Team wasn't among the busiest teams as it focused on race preparations. As ever, setting fast lap times wasn't on the team's agenda in this first-session.

This time, Robert was the slightly busier and faster of the pairing. The pole completed three stints comprising 18 laps and on his 16th lap he set his personal best time of 1:37.039 minutes to finish 13th on the time sheets.

Nick also drove three stints but completed a lap less than his team-mate. Throughout the session, the German complained about the engine performance and ultimately had to settle for 18th, with his personal best of 1:37.640 minutes set on his 13th lap.

In the second 90-minute practice session, starting at 14:00hrs local time (07:00hrs BST), the BMW Sauber F1 Team, will continue its preparations for the remainder of the weekend.