FORMULA 1 2009 PREVIEW - PART 8 - BMW SAUBER

BMW SAUBER

--- TEAM INFO ---
TEAM PRINCIPAL - Mario Thiessen
TEAM COLOURS - White, Blue
CAR - BMW Sauber F1.09
ENGINE SUPPLIER - BMW
TYRES - Bridgestone
TECHINCAL DIRECTOR(S) - Willy Rampf
MAJOR SPONSORS - BMW, Petronas, T Systems, Intel
--- STATS ---
FIRST SEASON - 2006
GRANDS PRIX - 53
WORLD DRIVERS TITLES - 0
WORLD CONSTRUCTORS TITLES - 0
WINS - 1
POLE POSITIONS - 1
POINTS SCORED - 272
--- DRIVERS ---
5 - Robert Kubica (Poland)
6 - Nick Heidfeld (Germany)
TEST DRIVER - Christian Klien (Germany)

The target in 2006 was respectability, they achieved that, the target in 2007 was to be competitive at the front, they achieved that and in 2008 the target was to win their first race and, yes they achieved that too. So whatever their target is for this year (by law of averages) they should be able to fulfill it.

Well the signs are very good indeed, along with Brawn (nee Honda) and Williams, BMW Sauber began development on the 2009 car very early and testing the new aero regulations began for them before the 2008 season even finished and as a result, they are well ahead of most of the competition setting an excellent pace in testing.

And in their driver lineup, they have the perfect blend of youth and experience, Robert Kubica, the young charger has just been getting better every year with his win in Canada last year being just another tick in the list of progression, the next step is to go on and win your first title and i think that Kubica can do it this year. And joining him again is Nick Heidfeld, now in his 10th season, yes he has failed to win races, but he is a solid team player and a consistent points scorer, just what a championship challenging team needs in my view.

But how BMW does this year depends a lot on how early they stop development on the car and begin switching attention to next year's chassis, this has contributed to them having very poor end of season form. If they devote more of their efforts to their current machine, i think they will deliver a first world title for the young Kubica, a real star of the future.

2009 PREDICTION FOR BMW SAUBER
DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Robert Kubica - 1st
Nick Heidfeld - 6th
CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
2nd