BMW Sauber will bounce back and get more top results during the remaining seven grand’s prix of the year, team boss Mario Theissen has vowed ahead of next weekend’s race in Valencia.
BMW went into F1’s three-week summer holiday on a low, having surrendered second place in the constructors’ championship to arch rivals McLaren-Mercedes post-Budapest. Indeed the Hungarian Grand Prix was a dismal one for the Munich and Hinwil-based concern, with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld only finishing eighth and tenth respectively.
Theissen believes though, that the short break will have reinvigorated everyone and he is now looking forward to the trip to the Mediterranean for the ‘European Grand Prix’, which will host the first of two street circuit premieres this season - with Singapore to follow next month.
“The short summer break after the race in Budapest has benefited everyone. Now we are embarking on the remaining three European races and four overseas GPs with renewed vigour,” he confirmed.
“Our aim is to continue on from the good results of the first half of the season. We still have a few arrows in our quiver and we aim to land one or other hit.
“The European Grand Prix around the port area of Valencia is new to the program this year. We are very much looking forward to the race and the city, particularly as BMW has some close associations with Valencia.
“The Formula BMW Racing Centre there serves as the training site for our up-and-coming young talent in the Formula BMW series around the world. Valencia is by tradition the venue for rolling out our new F1 cars too, and beyond that city races always make for a unique atmosphere. We await the new circuit with keen anticipation.”
BMW Sauber technical director Willy Rampf meanwhile added that the team has done a lot of simulation work in preparation for the inaugural street race on the 5.440 kilometre track.
Furthermore while it will be reminiscent of the Monaco Grand Prix, due to its seafront location, the circuit will be a lot faster and will not emulate the confined conditions found at the Principality.
“Valencia is a new venue in the calendar and as such poses a particular challenge, not least because it’s a street circuit. Not that it’s a slow one – the drivers will be exceeding the 300 km/h mark on the fastest section,” Rampf revealed. “With the help of our simulation programmes we are in a position to reliably calculate the required downforce levels in advance as well as brake wear and gear ratios. That means we will start out with a good basic set-up.
“If you compare Valencia with Monaco, you’re talking about two street circuits but with very distinctive characters and very different challenges for the cars. In Valencia we will be racing with a lot of downforce, but not with the maximum that Monaco demands.”
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