[PDF] Press Release: Belgian Grand Prix [http://www.lifepr.de?boxid=119114]

1. F1Team
BMW Sauber F1Team
Belgian Grand Prix.
th th
28 – 30 August 2009
th
12 of 17 World Championship races
Preview.
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Munich/Hinwil, 23 August 2009. Formula One swaps Mediterranean glamour for the rugged
countryside of the Ardennes as the teams line up for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-
Francorchamps – just seven days after the European Grand Prix in Valencia. This “natural”
circuit is one of the most challenging on the F1 calendar.
Robert Kubica:
“We are heading to the final stage of the season which offers a lot of nice tracks, beginning
with Spa-Francorchamps. It is a race track with a great history. Most of the drivers like driving
here. The circuit is very long with a lot of challenging high-speed corners. Finding the right
balance is one crucial factor in Spa, which is quite difficult. The weather is always
unpredictable and mostly changeable. It might be dry on some parts of the track and it might
rain heavily on others. Driving in Spa is challenging and it is always exciting to come here.”
Nick Heidfeld:
“Spa is a sensational race track. The 2008 race was one of my best ever. I was running in the
points and decided shortly before the end of the race to switch onto wet-weather tyres. It
turned out to be a spot-on decision and put me eventually into second. Sudden changes in
the weather can have a decisive effect on this grand prix. Even if it’s hot all over Europe, there
might still be torrential rain at Spa. Plus, Spa is only an hour or so from Mönchengladbach by
car, so this race always gives me the chance to make a quick visit back to my old home
town.”
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director:
“Spa – only three letters, but a place with so much motor racing history. Spa is an essential
date on the F1 calendar. We love coming to this small, sleepy Belgian town. Spa is a fantastic
natural race circuit tucked away in the beautiful, rugged Ardennes. Recent modifications have
meant Eau Rouge is now taken flat out in the dry, creating the longest full-throttle section of
the season. As this part of the track also rises significantly, engine output and durability are
really put to the test. The second defining feature of Spa is the unpredictable weather. It
changes very quickly; rain can suddenly set in, but sometimes only over one section of the
track. We are aiming to record another good result in the penultimate race of the European
season.”
Willy Rampf, Head of Engineering:
“Spa is the longest circuit on the F1 calendar and the race is therefore run over the least
number of laps. This significantly restricts the teams’ room for manoeuvre in terms of race
strategy, because staying out one lap more or less makes a big difference to the amount of
Media contact fuel a driver has on board.
Jörg Kottmeier
+49 170 5666112
joerg.kottmeier@bmw.de
“As far as the track characteristics are concerned, Spa is the first circuit this season where we
will be running medium downforce with the 2009 cars. Up to now, we have sent the cars out
Hanspeter Brack
+41 79 7701819 with high downforce for every GP. The difference is considerable and means we will use
hanspeter.brack@
bmw-sauber.com
special wings at Spa. The track layout has a real excitement factor, which goes beyond the
renowned Eau Rouge. The spectrum of cornering speeds is huge; the corners range from the
Heike Hientzsch
+49 172 6209904 extremely tight Bus Stop chicane to the high-speed Blanchimont.
bmw@heikehientzsch.de
Benjamin Titz
+49 179 7438088
benjamin.titz@bmw.de

2. F1Team
BMW Sauber F1Team
“We can usually expect relatively low ambient temperatures at Spa, so getting heat into the
tyres is sure to be an issue. Spa is traditionally the only race where you also prepare a rain
set-up for every session. That makes this weekend an extremely exacting one for the
engineers because, in addition to adapting the car to the particular characteristics of the
circuit, you also have to factor in the weather.”
Facts and figures:
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Circuit/Date Spa-Francorchamps / 30 August 2009
Start time (local/UTC) 14.00 hrs / 12.00 hrs
Lap/Race distance 7.004 km / 308.052 km (44 laps)
Corners 9 right-hand and 10 left-hand corners
Winner Felipe Massa, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
2008 1 hr 22:59.394 min
Pole position Lewis Hamilton, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
2008 1:47.338 min
Fastest lap Kimi Räikkönen, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro,
2008 1:47.930 min
2008
Data 2008 Full-throttle percentage: 70%
Top speed: 310 km/h
Longest section at full throttle: 24 sec / 1,865 m
Gear changes per lap: 52
Tyre wear: medium
Brake wear: low
Downforce level: low
Driver Robert Kubica Nick Heidfeld
Date of birth 07.12.1984 10.05.1977
Place of birth Krakow/Poland Mönchengladbach/Germany
Nationality Polish German
Residence Monaco Stäfa, Switzerland
Marital status Single Partner Patricia Papen,
daughter Juni, son Joda
Height 1.84 m 1.67 m
Weight 72 kg 59 kg
F1 debut 2006, Budapest 2000, Melbourne
GP starts 51 163
Pole positions 1 1
Wins 1 -
Podium places 8 12
Fastest laps - 2
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Best placing 4 (2008) 5 (2007 and 2008)
Points total 123 206
Points 2009 3 6

3. F1Team
BMW Sauber F1Team
BMW Sauber F1 Team
Founded 01.01.2006
Locations Munich (DE) and Hinwil (CH)
F1 debut 2006, Melbourne
GP starts 64
Pole positions 1
Wins 1
rd nd st
Podium places 16 (6 x 3 /9 x 2 / 1 x 1 )
Fastest laps 2
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World Championship 5 (2006), 36 points
nd
placings 2 (2007), 101 points
rd
3 (2008), 135 points
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8 (2009), 9 points after 11 GPs
Season 2009:
Robert Kubica Nick Heidfeld
Qualifying Race Points Qualifying Race Points
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Australian GP 4 15 - 11 10 -
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acciden (grid 9 )
t
th th nd
Malaysian GP 8 DNF - 11 2 4
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(half points) (grid 6 ) (grid 10 )
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Chinese GP 18 13 - 11 12 -
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(grid 17 )
th th th th
Bahrain GP 13 18 - 14 19 -
th th th th
Spanish GP 10 11 - 13 7 2
th th th
Monaco GP 18 DNF - 17 11 -
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(grid 17 ) (grid 16 )
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Turkish GP 10 7 2 11 11 -
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British GP 12 13 - 15 15 -
th th th th
German GP 16 14 - 11 10 -
th th th th
Hungarian GP 19 13 - 16 11 -
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(grid 18 ) (grid 15 )
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European GP 10 8 1 11 11 -
History and background:
The cross-country character of the Spa circuit can be traced back to its earliest days. The
idea of linking up the towns of Malmedy, Stavelot and Francorchamps for the purposes of
racing dates back to 1920. The first car race in the region around the health resort of Spa was
scheduled for 1921 but had to be cancelled as there was just one entrant. Instead,
motorcycles gave the circuit its curtain-raising event, with cars eventually following in 1922.
The inaugural 24-hour race at Spa was held in 1924, and the circuit hosted its first major
formula race – the European Grand Prix – a year later.
1970 marked the final race on what was then a 14-kilometre course, as the cars had become
too fast for the track. The present circuit was opened in 1979. There was no Formula One
race at Spa in 2003, and the Bus Stop chicane was modified ahead of the 2004 event. After
the 2005 GP, F1 again gave Spa a miss. For 2007 a new pit lane awaited and the Bus Stop
section, including the pit lane approach, was modified once more.

4. F1Team
BMW Sauber F1Team
The fast and challenging track has been the scene of plenty of accidents down the years,
some with tragic consequences. The biggest pile-up in F1 history occurred in 1998 in the La
Source hairpin just after the start, though fortunately none of the drivers was injured. To date,
41 Belgian Grands Prix have been held at Spa. A further ten have taken place in Zolder and
two in Nivelles.
Schedule for group interviews at the weekend:
Thursday:
13.30-13.40 – Robert Kubica – TV
13.40-14.00 – Robert Kubica – print media
13.30-13.50 – Nick Heidfeld – print media
13.50-14.00 – Nick Heidfeld – TV
14.00-14.10 – Christian Klien – TV
14.10-14.30 – Christian Klien – print media
15.30-15.35 – Mario Theissen – TV
15.35-16.00 – Mario Theissen – print media
18.00-18.30 – Willy Rampf – by prior arrangement only
Friday:
16.45-16.55 – Robert Kubica – TV
16.45-16.55 – Nick Heidfeld – TV
Saturday:
16.45-17.05 – Robert Kubica – print media
17.05-17.15 – Robert Kubica –TV
16.45-16.55 – Nick Heidfeld – TV
16.55-17.15 – Nick Heidfeld – print media
18.00-18.05 – Mario Theissen – TV
18.05-18.30 – Mario Theissen – print media
Sunday:
After the end of the race, Kubica and Heidfeld will be on hand behind the FIA garage,
Theissen and Rampf in the team area.
the
Involvement in the FIA press conference means the group interviews will be cancelled on the
relevant day.
Media website www.press.bmw-motorsport.com
www.press.bmw-
Team website www.bmw-sauber-f1.com
www.bmw-sauber-