Heidfeld managed to secure the final point after losing a lot of places with dirt on his tyres on lap one, maintaining ninth position in the standings, but will head to China with only a little more experience of the Shanghai circuit than his Polish team-mate.
"This is only the second time I'll have raced in Shanghai, as I was injured for the GP last season," he confirmed, "However, I found our first year there a great experience. Shanghai is a fascinating city and the atmosphere by the river is particularly special. But it's also full of contrasts. On the one hand, you have the hyper-modern and probably fastest-growing city in the world, while a few meters down the road there is abject poverty and the people don't even have toilets.
"The circuit is very impressive. Although it's so modern, it still has genuine character. The first time I had a look around, it gave me the feeling that it had always been there - it fits in so well."
The team warmed up for the race with a three-day test at
Jerez, where Kubica was regularly among the pacesetters as he remained buoyed by his maiden podium position and joining the retiring
Michael Schumacher on the Monza rostrum.
"I'm really looking forward to the race in Shanghai, as it will be the first time I'll have lined up for
BMW Sauber outside Europe," the Pole commented, "I've only ever raced once on Chinese soil, and that was in Macau, where the street circuit is by far my favourite track. In 2004 and 2005, I finished second there in the legendary F3 race, and I'll be happy to continue that this weekend."
Sebastian Vettel has been confirmed as third driver for the team for the remainder of the season, and will be looking to again top the Friday times in China.
"When I think of China, I think of small people, the Great Wall, cheap electronics, a foreign language, foreign culture and writing which leaves me totally blank, so I'm looking forward to gaining a lot of new experiences this weekend," the German smiled.
MF1 Racing - Tiago Monteiro (#18), Christijan Albers (#19):
The team that rolled into Monza on Friday known as Midland MF1 Racing rolled out again on Sunday with its trucks bearing the legend Spyker M
F1, after Alex Shnaider finally agreed terms with Michiel Mol and Victor Muller.
