BMW-Sauber may have endured a less than entirely satisfying qualifying session for this weekend's British Grand Prix at
Silverstone, but there was at least happier news for one member of the squad, as
Nick Heidfeld out-qualified team-mate
Robert Kubica for the first time in 2008.
In lining up fifth, the experienced German has not only put disappointing showings in Magny-Cours and Monaco – both occasions on which he failed even to make the Q3 top ten shoot-out – behind him, but the performance also backed up his claims that he is finally getting to the bottom of the tyre-warming woes which have hurt him so badly since the beginning of the campaign.
“I'm quite happy with fifth,” the under-fire 31-year-old stated, “because it just continues a positive trend which began in qualifying in Magny-Cours, and confirms all our efforts and work have paid off. I can now manage again to heat up the tyres properly and get them to work, but we shall continue to work on this subject.
“In Q2 Robert and I were just separated by two hundredths of a second. Generally my car was a lot better today than on Friday. However, on my last lap in Q3 it felt a little bit strange, so we have to find out what this was. I think we shall have an exciting race tomorrow, [with] a high chance of rain.”
Kubica was understandably rather more nonplussed with tenth, after a brief off-piste moment in Q3 followed by a technical problem stymied his chances and brought a premature end to his efforts – leaving the former world championship-leading Pole a lowly tenth on the grid.
“It was a difficult qualifying in the end,” the 23-year-old mused afterwards, “but finally we were on the right pace. Q1 was good and Q2 was even better, as the first time on option tyres was very good. I backed off in the last sector to just bring the car home, and it was still enough to be two or three tenths off the
McLaren time.
