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F1 Australia: BMW's Heidfeld 2nd, Kubica DNFs
Nick Heidfeld of BMW-Sauber finished second in the Formula One season opener, a wild and crazy Grand Prix of Australia won by Lewis Hamilton of McLaren. Just seven cars finished the race; Heidfeld’s teammate Robert Kubica was not among them.
Kubica had qualified a strong second behind Hamilton. He ran in second until his first pit stop, but then fell back to fourth and eventually crashed out, ironically during a safety car period, when he was rear-ended by Williams’ Kaz Nakajima.
Heidfeld (photo) drove a steady race, staying out of the trouble that took out a number of drivers.
Five racers crashed out on the first lap, and a number of others followed as the race progressed. It was the first race under the new rules that ban traction control, and several drivers apparently found that their cars were less forgiving at the limit. Among the crashers was Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, who crashed into a barrier on lap one and came in for a nose replacement, and who later took out Red Bull’s David Coulthard in a crash that brought out the second safety car period. Massa’s engine failed soon after that incident. His teammate, World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, made progress through the field, but took two costly off-course excursions and than dropped out with mechanical problems near the end of the race. It was a terrible start to the season for Ferrari, the defending Constructors’ champion.
Hamilton’s McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen could have finished second, but he was caught behind the safety car during its third and final session. The caution period resulted from a spectacular crash by Toyota’s Timo Glock, who was launched into the air during an off-course excursion. His car ran over a clearly unsafe berm at trackside. As the pits were closed at the beginning of the safety car period, Kovalainen’s last pit stop was delayed, moving him to the rear of the pack, and ensuring Heidfeld a second place and Williams’ Nico Rosberg a third (his first podium finish). Kovalainen recovered to finish fifth behind the Renault of Fernando Alonso.
Because of the attrition, points were awarded to two non-finishers, including Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Bourdais, who was on track to finish fourth in his rookie F1 race before his engine failed, and Raikkonen. Honda’s Rubens Barrichello, who finished sixth on the circuit, was disqualified for re-entering the circuit against a red light following a disastrous pit stop in which his team signaled him to leave while the fuel hose was still connected to his car.
Heidfeld said afterward that he had a good deal of wheel spin at the start, and did not think he would have a good race. But he soon found himself running in fourth, and rose in the field because of good pit stops, lucky timing with the safety car, his steady pace, and his ability to stay away from the carnage.
BMW Motorsport Director Dr. Mario Theissen said, "This was a fantastic start to the new season for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. In a turbulent race with three safety car periods and numerous retirements, Nick kept cool and finished second, achieving the first podium of the season for the team. Only Lewis Hamilton was quicker. This was a real strategy game. Nick was somewhat lucky with the safety car periods, Robert was unfortunately unlucky. Towards the end, Nakajima pushed him off the track. Up to this point he had driven a strong race after his fantastic qualifying yesterday. Together with our qualifying performance on Saturday, this is a good basis for the next races. This was a motivation boost for the whole team. A big thank you to all our colleagues in Munich and Hinwil."
Teams will have little time to repair the damage resulting from the Australian race. Practice for the Easter Sunday Grand Prix of Malaysia begins on Friday morning. Children waiting up for the Easter Bunny and parents of all faiths can catch the action starting at 2:30 AM EDT on Sunday, March 23 on the Speed Channel.
Brian S. Morgan, Motorsports Editor, bmwcca.org
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Nick Heidfeld (BMW) Robert Kubica (BMW)
Event Date Grid Finish Points Grid Finish Points
Australia March 16 5 2 8 2 ret 0
Malaysia March 23
Totals
Heidfeld -- -- 8
Kubica -- -- 0
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