Same again for Sauber

Eurosport - Tue, 07 Oct 12:14:00 2008

BMW Sauber will field an unchanged line-up of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld next year.

FORMULA 1 2008 - Nick Heidfeld of BMW Sauber in the rain - 0

Poland's Kubica is currently third in the world championship standings behind Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa heading into the Japan Grand Prix, while Germany's Heidfeld is fifth.

Austria's Christian Klien will remain the team's test and reserve driver.

"We see Nick and Robert as a strong driver pairing and Christian as an experienced test driver," BMW Motorsport director Mario Theissen said in a statement.

"We are in no doubt that we will again achieve our ambitious aims with them in the team's fourth year."

The announcement ends speculation over Heidfeld's future and also slams the door on Renault's Fernando Alonso, winner of the Singapore Grand Prix, who had been linked with a move to BMW.

AFP

Comment 9 - 28 of 28

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  1. I am not an ALONSO fan but i have the highest respect­ for ROSS BRAWN and i belive he is more of an authority­ on F1 matters then some of the people on this post so i­ would like these people to tell me was he laying when­ he said ALONSO is the best

    From stivsf1, on Wed 8 Oct 12:26AM

  2. I just realized that theoretically, both BMW drivers­ could still become champion this year.. The gap to LH­ is less than 30 points..That's no bad position to­ be in, three races to go.. Good season, maybe the next­ will be even better..

    From norman.rohner, on Tue 7 Oct 6:24PM

  3. What's the answer to this question:

    Are BMW Sauber­ really going to take the next step forward and­ seriously challenge the top two to win the world­ championship within the next 2 years?

    From ibasiram, on Tue 7 Oct 2:47PM

  4. All fools talking nonsense & wasting time!!! Oh­ yes, most likely these are jobless freaks!!!

    From beegees25, on Tue 7 Oct 11:46AM

  5. Alonso is not the most wanted driver on the grid, and­ he is not the most talented. Driver's I'd pick­ ahead of Alonso would be Kimi, Lewis, Kubica, Vettel,­ Sutil, Rosberg, Webber and Button. And give that list­ of 9 drivers to any team on the grid and I'm pretty­ sure Alonso wouldn't be the one they'd choose­ to fill a vacancy in their team. A good driver yes, a­ double world champion yes, but most wanted and best on­ the grid, not by a long shot.

    From ginger_gitt, on Tue 7 Oct 6:35AM

  6. alonso IS a rat BMW just needs to take the next step­ with the car They Can Win

    From COBRA65, on Tue 7 Oct 6:16AM

  7. Reply to 18.
    Alonso, the most talented driver on the­ field? What the @#$% you talking about? He had to­ chicken out of McLaren because he wasn't as good as­ Hamilton and he came in expecting to roll him over.
    As­ for all the teams wanting him, I didn't see too­ many of them waiting in line last year when he was­ free...
    I think at the moment if you offered Lewis to­ just about any team he would be taken.

    From Danymontin, on Tue 7 Oct 4:09AM

  8. Alonso is DOUBLE world champ .... no-one else on the­ grid can say that // !

    From llorretta, on Tue 7 Oct 3:40AM

  9. maybe vettel would have been a better replacment than­ Alonso?

    From colin, on Tue 7 Oct 3:17AM
  10. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    congrtulations Polanad is the best on the world!!

    Go­ KUBICA
    _________________________________
    You can do it­ !!!

    From sebastiannadratowski, on Tue 7 Oct 3:05AM

  11. What's with all the Alonso bashing? Alonso is­ easily the most talented driver on the field and can go­ to almost any team he wants whereas the only team who­ would want 'lord lewy' is the team he is at.­

    Anyway on the subject, BMW have 2 good drivers and­ there was no reason to change as they must want­ stability before trying to fight for the championship,­ both drivers are very talented and it was no real­ surprise.

    From tifosi4eva, on Tue 7 Oct 3:01AM

  12. Pardon me, but I thought Alonso had at least 5 teams­ ready and waiting to grab him up. Don't get me­ wrong, I think he is probubly the most talented driver­ on the grid, but it seems his past actions are catching­ up to him.

    From Rich L, on Tue 7 Oct 2:37AM

  13. congrtulations

    From vvagabond747, on Tue 7 Oct 2:28AM

  14. I am surprised that anyone thought Alonso would go to­ bmw. They have a Heidfeld who is a pretty good driver­ and he is german, which is important to bmw. They also­ have one of the best young drivers around in Kubica, so­ why change anything?

    From BigBill, on Mon 6 Oct 11:58PM

  15. Its a good pair i feel.No massive ego`s in the team­ means that bmw can worry about races and not about­ breast feeding.As for Alonso,its been proven that he­ can be a bit of a traitor and you never bite the hand­ that feeds you.Bmw are better off without him­ compromising the balance and good chemistry in the­ team.As a driver he may have offered valuable­ experience but i think that saying Alonso is the best­ f1 driver has got to be an overstatement.Not as simple­ as that anymore.

    From gerald, on Mon 6 Oct 11:50PM

  16. I would have been excited to see Alonso in a BMW.

    From andrew_slezak_coz, on Mon 6 Oct 11:45PM

  17. It is a good driver line up for BMW but imagine how­ much better it would have been if it was Kubica and­ Alonso. Alonso is the best driver in F1 by a long way­ and Kubica has outperformed the BMW on many occasions­ and made Heidfeld look a bit daft. Still, it is a­ decent line up

    From gough_79, on Mon 6 Oct 11:40PM

  18. I think BMW have made the right move in keeping the­ same driver line up , BMW are fast becoming strong­ contenders for winning a world championship , if they­ keep on improving the car then it wont be long before­ they are winning more races , then Ferrari will need to­ find a reason to pick faults with someone else other­ than Mclaren.

    Its Alonso's own fault for being­ where he is , he acted like a spoilt child when he was­ at Mclaren , like a baby throwing all of his toys out­ the pram during a tantrum.
    I will give him credit for­ SIngapore , he had a faultless drive and deserved to­ win.

    its the first time in many seasons where we have­ had at least 7 different race winners and 5 different­ constructor teams win a race in one season. also its a­ rare thing to see every team ( except Force India )­ having at least 1 podium finish in a season.
    This is­ what F1 should be about every season , lets hope it­ stays this way from now on.

    From Funky, on Mon 6 Oct 11:40PM

  19. I think BMW have made the right move in keeping the­ same driver line up , BMW are fast becoming strong­ contenders for winning a world championship , if they­ keep on improving the car then it wont be long before­ they are winning more races , then Ferrari will need to­ find a reason to pick faults with someone else other­ than Mclaren.

    Its Alonso's own fault for being­ where he is , he acted like a spoilt child when he was­ at Mclaren , like a baby throwing all of his toys out­ the pram during a tantrum.
    I will give him credit for­ SIngapore , he had a faultless drive and deserved to­ win.

    its the first time in many seasons where we have­ had at least 7 different race winners and 5 different­ constructor teams win a race in one season. also its a­ rare thing to see every team ( except Force India )­ having at leat 1 podium fininsh in a season.
    This is­ what F1 should be about every season , lets hope it­ stays this way from now on.

    From Funky, on Mon 6 Oct 11:35PM

  20. Good for Robert and Nick. Go set 'em lads!

    From sdcharger717, on Mon 6 Oct 11:29PM
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