Could BMW win a championship in 2008?

[dcp2685]

Originally Posted by ralf fan

Nope. Before the SC Kimi was pretty much eating into Kubica's lead at 0.5 secs per lap. They don't have the raw pace. Kimi and Lewis would have beaten the Beemers by 10-15 secs probably more.

Bimmers. It's bimmers. Beemers are BMW motorcycles.

[F.O.F.]

Originally Posted by roachy101

i think bmw will need a season or two to make a few minor adjustments. they seem to be doing what renault done from 2003 to 2006 imho

I think that's pretty much what's happening right now.Now that they've achieved their goal for this year I think they'll just let the rest of the year play itself out while focusing on coming out of the '09 starting blocks as real title contenders.I still wouldn't be surprised for them to finish up second in one of the championships this year though.And I couldn't bet money against kubica sneaking the WDC on sheer consistency.What's the lowest he's actually finished this year?forgetting Australia

[F.O.F.]

To answer my own question (now that i was bothered to go find out myself) he's retired once,had two fourths,a third,two seconds and the win. You can't really argue with that....

[Ralf's Girl]

Originally Posted by F.O.F.

And I couldn't bet money against kubica sneaking the WDC on sheer consistency.

If he manages that there'll be an outcry about the need to change the points system...

[Satorian]

Originally Posted by Hendrik

In Canada BMW made the decision to play it safe, secure the first win under all circumstances. If they'd given Heidfeld less fuel and kept him on a two-stop, he'd won the race easily.

You know, this I had been wondering about as well. Had Heidfeld been put on a two stopper with the first long stint he drove superbly, he might have won. At least he was absolutely on par with Kubica. I mean, he was out for 40 laps with soft tyres. With only half the fuel per stint and fresh tyres after twenty laps, he probably would have kept up with Kubica.

And, by the way, Heidfeld pitted 10 laps later than Kubica, who was kept out longer by a lap than he intended to under SC-closed-pit. 10 laps of fuel in qualifying. Do the math where he would have ended up with equal fuel.

[Bononi]

It seems to be a crucial moment for Heidfeld, in the next races we'll see how he can cope having to play second to Kubica and how it develops in his future in the team.

[mjstallard]

Originally Posted by Bononi

It seems to be a crucial moment for Heidfeld, in the next races we'll see how he can cope having to play second to Kubica and how it develops in his future in the team.

Robert (understandibly) wants "100% support" from the team from now on, although it doesn't look like they're totally giving up on Nick just yet though - they're letting him test in Barcelona for one day in order to try and sort out his tyre warming issues:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/68194

[alonso11]

First of, title chances? give me a brake, if the MC and Ferrari guys arnt having problems 3rd is the best Kubica can possibly do in a race, and even that will change when Kovalainnen finaly puts his act together.

Secondly, Nick is only 12 points behind with 11 races remaining...

And btw, Robert already got 100% support, Nick didnt race him for a win he sooooo deserved, let him by like a true team-player.

I think those Robert comments are hardly called for, but hey, a bit of ego-tripping after your first win can happen I guess.

[Satorian]

The thing is, if Ferrari and McLaren are buying their pace at the cost of flawless execution and reliability, then it's their own fault for pushing too hard. At the moment BMW might not seem like providing the quickest car, but they bring the points home over and over again and both drivers have the keen sense to be pragmatical about it. So, I wouldn't "denigrate" them for being the reliable turtle as best of the rest. They chose their strategy and they stick with it.

[Marbot]

BMW could win a championship in 2008 if either the team scores more points than the other teams or one of its drivers scores more points than the other drivers.You can't argue with logic can you.

Personally I don't think that they are quite there yet.But a couple more races like the ones we've just had and who knows!

[Born Racer]

Robert (understandibly) wants "100% support" from the team from now on

Have you got a link for that please?

It's just I'm hearing conflicting messages because James Allen said that "Kubica said something very odd at the end of the press conference. He said that he hoped the team would not give him 100% support from now on."

http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?T...Allen&id=42949

Here's a link to the press conference transcript:

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/6/7904.html

[-WM-]

Originally Posted by Hendrik

Heidfeld was on P4 when Alonso destroyed his BMW-Sauber in Monaco and got P2 behind Kubica in Canada... I don't think that Heidfeld really is a handicap for BMW Sauber. He will be a handicap only for Kubica if he'll regain his qualifying pace. His race pace still is at least on level with Kubica, I think it's even slightly better.

While I agree with you that Heidfeld is somewhat unlucky in the last couple of races, I dont think his problem is only the qualifying pace. He is slower than Kubica in every practice and every qualifying mostly by as much as half a second this year. This tyre warming issue is just nonsense as there is enough time to do it in practices for example (why cant he drive "harder" than usual on the first lap???). I have seen every race with live timing on this year and Heidfeld is generally faster in races but not near "on level" with Kubica - in clean air Kubica was mostly faster in the region of 0.2-0.5 second depending on the race.
I dont know what the cause is of this Heidfeld "slowdown" this year, as he was clearly the faster of the two last year... no driver aids? Kubica just living up to his potential?...

[Gt_R]

Could be down to the new regulations, or simply that the car is better suited to Kubica's style.

I'm pleased with Kubica/BMW's first win... BMW's win is something which i am eagerly looking out for, and it's superb the way they accomplished it 1-2.

While much praise goes to Kubica's form, i think he and many others know how fast the tide can change. A future potential WDC can easily fall off the radar. JPM came in with guns blazing, but things unfortunately didn't work out. And Nick was once the future WDC-in-the-making...again failing. Kubica knows that he needs to grab the opportunity NOW as the promising future may not arrive.

The problem now for Kubica/BMW is regarding car developement. The current car is consistent but not on pace with Ferrari/Mclaren yet. Should BMW put more efforts to push the 2008 car and sacrifice some effort on the 2009 car? They could just almost defend it and win at least one championship. Or go for 2009 honors, but with new regulations for next year, the uncertainty to be ahead and risk is much higher. And Kubica would be aware that things may not be as smooth going as this year.

BMW is tight on the heels and its brilliant to see them come in and take advantage when Ferrari/Mclaren trips over each other. But that said, Canada could easily have gone other ways if Kimi wasn't butted out.

[mjstallard]

Originally Posted by Born Racer

Have you got a link for that please?

It's just I'm hearing conflicting messages because James Allen said that "Kubica said something very odd at the end of the press conference. He said that he hoped the team would not give him 100% support from now on."

http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?T...Allen&id=42949

Here's a link to the press conference transcript:

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/6/7904.html

Never trust The Allen

Originally Posted by press conference transcript

We are leading the Drivers’ championship, so I hope the team will give me 100 per cent support to try and maybe defend it until the last race.