A culmination of hard work, realistic expectations, attrition, prefect pit stops, impeccable strategy and terrific driving saw BMW have claim their first win since purchasing the Sauber team and entering the Formula 1 Championship in 2005.Robert Kubica took the win with teammate Nick Heidfeld in second place after a pit lane incident between Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen removed both drivers from the race. Robert had pitted at the same time as Kimi and Lewis while Nick Heidfeld remained on track during the safety car period. The incident happened literally in front of Robert’s eyes as Lewis Hamilton failed to see the red light halting the cars at pit exit. Lewis promptly drove into the back of Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari leaving both cars too damaged to continue. It seemed as if Nick Heidfeld may have a chance of winning the race as he clawed a 27 second gap between he and Robert. BMW changed Nick’s strategy to a one-stop sequence. Nick regained the lead after his pit stop but with heavy fuel and cold tires; he couldn’t hold Robert back. Robert returned the favor by clawing out a 25 second gap to retain the lead after his second stop to take the win. David Coulthard rounded off the podium for Red Bull Racing.
All of this occurred due to a mechanical problem with Adrian Sutil’s Force India car. Adrian’s car stopped on track prompting the safety car that ultimately created the mass pit scenario that saw Lewis’s gaffe. Robert Kubica had a horrific crash at the Canadian Grand Prix last year and perhaps this year is justice for the Polish driver. I must say it was very exciting to hear the Polish National Anthem played for the first time ever in Formula 1. BMW have systematically arrived under the expert leadership of Dr. Mario Theissen surpassing other teams who spend more and have been in longer than BMW. A huge result today as Robert Kuica takes BMW’s maiden win, takes his first win, is the first win for a Polish driver and forges into the World Drivers Championship lead. What a day for BMW.
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1h36:24.447 2. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) + 16.495 3. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) + 23.352 4. Glock Toyota (B) + 42.627 5. Massa Ferrari (B) + 43.934 6. Trulli Toyota (B) + 47.775 7. Barrichello Honda (B) + 53.597 8. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 54.120 9. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 54.433 10. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) + 54.749 11. Button Honda (B) + 1:07.540 12. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) + 1:11.299 13. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:17.387 Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) 54 Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 49 Alonso Renault (B) 47 Piquet Renault (B) 42 Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 20 Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 20 Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) 14 World Championship standings, round 7: Drivers: Constructors: 1. Kubica 42 1. Ferrari 73 2. Hamilton 38 2. BMW Sauber 70 3. Massa 38 3. McLaren-Mercedes 53 4. Raikkonen 35 4. Red Bull-Renault 21 5. Heidfeld 28 5. Toyota 17 6. Kovalainen 15 6. Williams-Toyota 15 7. Webber 15 7. Renault 9 8. Trulli 12 8. Honda 8 9. Alonso 9 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7 10. Rosberg 8 11. Nakajima 7 12. Coulthard 6 13. Vettel 5 14. Barrichello 5 15. Glock 5 16. Button 3 17. Bourdais 2
