France - BMW Sauber - PreviewAfter two races in the urban surrounds of North American metropolises, Formula One is rediscovering its taste for the countryside as the season reaches its halfway point.
The drivers will line up in Magny-Cours on 1st July, before locking
horns again at Silverstone a week later.
As the last two races have shown, even the most impressive formbook means little if you don't get both cars across the finish line. A crash and a retirement saw the BMW Sauber F1 Team leave North America feeling decidedly short-changed.
As for the team's aims for the French GP, continuing the competitiveness it has shown over the season so far and finishing the race with both cars in the points would do nicely. A pre-race medical examination will determine whether Robert Kubica returns to the cockpit at Magny-Cours.
Nick Heidfeld"The Magny-Cours circuit has a lot to offer – two tricky chicanes, a high-speed section and some slow corners. I'm looking forward to the race weekend. The track is demanding, I like the countryside around the circuit and you tend to eat very well in France. There's not a lot going on in Magny-Cours and it gets its fair share of criticism as a result. But I like a bit of peace and quiet now and again. And I think the relative tranquillity will do the team good after the eventful time we've had recently. Although we only picked up a single point in the USA, it's clear that we are still making progress.
In terms of pure performance, our car was the second-best in Indianapolis. I could have qualified third and also finished third in the race."
Robert Kubica
"I can't wait to get back into the car. I may not have been given the green light to compete in the USA, but I hope the medical examination at Magny-Cours will be a formality. The reason why I wasn't allowed to drive at Indianapolis had nothing to do with how I felt; the problem was the risk involved in suffering a second accident within such a short space of time. That's also why I wasn't allowed to test. I've used the time to focus intensively on preparing for the next race. I'm pretty neutral about the Magny-Cours track. It isn't one of my favourite circuits, but at the same time I don't have a problem with it. Magny-Cours is a lot more fun in a Formula One car than with the smaller cars I've driven there before in other categories of racing. You can particularly see the potential of the F1 car through the chicanes."
Press Release BMW Sauber
