Q:
Robert, congratulations to you. Your team-mate
Nick Heidfeld finished sixth and set fastest race lap. A great day for the
BMW Sauber team.
Robert Kubica:
I think it is a fantastic result for the team – second time we have second place in a grand prix in a row. After an unlucky Australian Grand Prix finally a podium after Monza 2006, so I am very happy for myself and for the team.
Q:
Simple words, but of course a very tough race and you did drive beautifully. Talk us through the race in terms of your tyre choice and perhaps the effect of the heat and strategy and what it was like in the closing stages?
RK:
I didn’t have a good start. There was some wheel-spin at the start which compromised my acceleration, so it was quite close with [Jarno] Trulli and Nick. I nearly lost the car on the braking into the first corner as I was inside on the dirty side but I think they touched, so I managed to overtake them. I was trying to keep a consistent pace. We know we cannot keep behind
Ferrari but I was trying to make up time as I thought
McLaren would be a bit stronger. I saw after the second pit stop that Heikki was around 17 seconds behind me and didn’t close the gap. We did the last pit stop and then just pulled down the revs to keep the engine a bit fresh for the next grand prix which is very important. For the heat it was a tough race and I didn’t feel well all weekend. I was a bit sick and especially our new car is very hot inside. The last 10 laps were pretty tough to keep concentration as 20 seconds in front was Kimi and 20 seconds behind was Heikki, so I was just cruising to the end.
Q:
The drink in the car. How was that towards the end of the race?
RK:
Our drink is already hot at the beginning of the race – extremely hot as in the cockpit we have massive temperatures, so I didn’t drink a lot as the drink was too hot. Next time I try to use hot tea inside the bottle.
Q:
You were behind the Ferraris early on. Where were they quicker and where are you going to be working on improving the car in the upcoming weeks?
RK:
First of all, I think we have to be happy with our pace already now because, at the start of the season, it did not look so well. It is very difficult to say where they are quicker. For sure on the top speed we are lacking a bit and it makes for tough racing because you have to push really hard in the corners knowing that in the straight you will be losing a bit of a gap. Especially on the long distance race it is not easy with tyre degradation and with the new tarmac and the new asphalt here in Sepang we were lacking traction compared to last year, so we will have to work on this.
Q:
Heikki, congratulations to you. P3 in qualifying but in fact starting eighth on the grid. But finishing third on the podium – what a fantastic day for you.
Heikki Kovalainen:
We have to be pleased with the result. Obviously, after yesterday’s penalty, it was going to be hard day for us. My strategy worked out very well and I was able to be in the clean air almost all the time. There was a little trouble in the first stint with a bit of graining but after that the car worked pretty well and then on the last stint I also had a gap to the front and to the back, so we turned the engines down and we just brought it home. For me a pretty good day, although we still would have liked to have been a couple of positions higher but today this was the maximum we could do.
Q:
A great strategy stopping as late as lap 20 and in that extended first stint being able to pass for example
Jarno Trulli and then consolidating that position with pressure from the
Toyota for a while.
