After the dismal showing in Bahrain, BMW Sauber look to bounce back in Barcelona with a major update to the so far disappointing F1.09 package."The Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona signals the start of the European season after four races overseas," explained Team Principal Mario Theissen. "Traditionally this represents something of a second start to the season.
"For the BMW Sauber F1 Team this applies more so than usual this year, as we cannot be satisfied at all with the first four races of the season. After our positive winter testing, all of us at the BMW Sauber F1 Team envisaged a rather different start to the season. The car is not fast enough and we have recorded only one podium finish -– Nick Heidfeld’s second place in Malaysia."
Heidfeld's second position in the rain-shortened Malaysian Grand Prix was in fact the team’s only points of the season as team-mate Robert Kubica has yet to score, despite a strong showing in Melbourne.
"We are approaching this challenge in a positive way and are working intensively in Munich and Hinwil to get back to our old form," Theissen continued. "We will be lining up in Barcelona with an extensive aerodynamics-focused development package, and are already working on further upgrades to be introduced later on in the season."
Both Heidfeld and Kubica know Circuit de Catalunya well with the latter admitting they could 'drive the circuit with our eyes closed'.
"As all Formula One teams have tested in Barcelona, I expect the pack to be very close together - even closer than up to now," Kubica stated. "We will bring a new aero package and we hope to improve significantly compared to our recent performance, as it is our goal to close the gap to the top teams."
After four frustrating races Kubica finds himself 20th and last in the drivers' championship with his 13th position in China being his best result of the season to date. Heidfeld's four points from Sepang leave him ninth.
"Like everybody in the team, I am also placing my hopes on our new aerodynamic upgrades," said the German veteran. "The team has put an incredible amount of energy into trying to close the gap to the leaders. I hope we will perform rather better against our rivals in Barcelona, but that’s difficult to predict as all the teams will be bringing upgrade packages of varying degrees to the first race of the European season."
Head of Engineering Willy Rampf explained the changes being made to the F1.09 for the fifth round of the championship.
"The nose section, more deeply undercut sidepods and the rear wing are all totally new," Rampf said. "Added to which, modifications have also been made to the front wing, engine cover and underbody. We expect these improvements to significantly reduce our lap times."
"We expect to be able to close the gap to our rivals," Rampf continued. "We won’t find this out for certain, though, until the race weekend. Up to then we will only have the results from the wind tunnel and simulations to go on and, of course, can no longer test in advance on the track. Seeing the full potential of the car reflected in results on the track will be a big challenge for the engineers."
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