Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Constructor | BMW Sauber | ||||||||||
Designer(s) | Willy Rampf (Technical Director) Walter Riedl (Engineering Director) Christoph Zimmermann (Chief Designer) Loïc Serra (Chief Vehicle Dynamicist) Willem Toet (Head of Aerodynamics) Seamus Mullarkey (Chief Aerodynamicist) | ||||||||||
Predecessor | BMW Sauber F1.07 | ||||||||||
Successor | BMW Sauber F1.09 | ||||||||||
Technical specifications [1] | |||||||||||
Chassis | Carbon-fibre monocoque | ||||||||||
Suspension (front) | Upper and lower wishbones, push-rod activated inboard spring/damper (Sachs Race Engineering). Zero keel geometry | ||||||||||
Suspension (rear) | As front | ||||||||||
Length | 4,600 mm (181 in) | ||||||||||
Width | 1,800 mm (71 in) | ||||||||||
Height | 1,000 mm (39 in) | ||||||||||
Axle track | F: 1,470 mm (58 in) R: 1,410 mm (56 in) | ||||||||||
Wheelbase | 3,130 mm (123 in) | ||||||||||
Engine | BMW P86/8 2,400 cc (146 cu in) V8 (90°). Naturally aspirated, 19,000 RPM Limited mid-engine, longitudinally mounted | ||||||||||
Transmission | BMW Sauber 7-speed "Quick Shift Gearbox (QSG)". Longitudinally mounted, carbon-fibre clutch (AP) | ||||||||||
Weight | 605 kg (1,334 lb) (including driver) | ||||||||||
Fuel | Petronas | ||||||||||
Tyres | Bridgestone Potenza OZ Wheels Front & Rear | ||||||||||
Competition history | |||||||||||
Notable entrants | BMW Sauber F1 Team | ||||||||||
Notable drivers | 3. Nick Heidfeld 4. Robert Kubica | ||||||||||
Debut | 2008 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
First win | 2008 Canadian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
Last win | 2008 Canadian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
Last event | 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
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The BMW Sauber F1.08 was the Formula One racing car with which the BMW Sauber team competed in the 2008 Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed by Willy Rampf, Walter Reidl, Christoph Zimmermann and Willem Toet with the powertrain being designed by Markus Duesmann.
The F1.08 was launched on January 14, 2008 in Munich. [2] The car was taken out for the first time at the Valencia circuit a day after the launch, where Nick Heidfeld took the car for a brief spin at BMW Welt, the BMW delivery center in Munich. The first track outing of the F1.08 was given to Robert Kubica. [3]
This was the first BMW Sauber to not be designed by Jörg Zander who left the team to go to Honda F1 in January 2008. [4]
For the 2008 season, BMW Sauber kept the white and navy livery used on its cars in 2006 and 2007. However, O2 was replaced by T-Systems, [5] and Cadence Design Systems [6] also became an official equipment supplier. The team continued to be sponsored and supported by Petronas, Intel, Certina, Dell and Credit Suisse.
The FIA implemented a set of rules for the 2008 season that saw all teams use one gearbox for four races and a standard McLaren Electronic Systems ECU that prevents the use of driving aids such as traction control and engine braking.
The sidepod areas underwent massive changes for 2008, along with a cleaning up of the area in front of the rear wing. [7] This made the airflow cleaner and smoother over the car to the rear wing, [8] increasing downforce. The F1.08 also introduced a new front wing that is suspended above the nose. [9] It is similar to the wing introduced on the McLaren MP4-22 in 2007, but it instead has a triple profile. The team also tested 'antlers'; vertical fins on the nosecone of the F1.08 in testing.
The first run of the F1.08 was at an exclusive three-day test at the Valencia circuit in Spain. Heidfeld had the duty of testing the F1.08 whilst teammate Kubica drove the F1.07B for the duration of the three-day test with the exception of the first day where Heidfeld drove the F1.07B. [10] However, when the team returned to the same circuit to test the F1.08 on 23 January, it was shown to be slow in comparison to its competitors and the team's previous pace. [11] Technical director Willy Rampf played down rumors of a lack of speed [12] and confirmed that the car would be running in a revised form at the Barcelona test on 1 to 3 February 2008.
The BMW Sauber team enjoyed a successful start to the 2008 season with Nick Heidfeld finishing second in Melbourne, 5.4 seconds behind the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton. At the next race in Malaysia Robert Kubica finished second, 19.5 seconds behind Kimi Räikkönen and his Ferrari; Nick Heidfeld also took the fastest lap. At the Bahrain Grand Prix Kubica took pole, just 0.027 seconds ahead of Ferrari driver Felipe Massa. In the race, however, Kubica started badly and lost ground to Massa in the first corner and to Raikkonen early in the race as well. Kubica and Heidfeld finished behind both Ferraris, in 3rd and 4th places, respectively.
After the Bahrain race BMW Sauber were leading the Constructors' Championship, a point ahead of Ferrari and two ahead of McLaren-Mercedes.
After the successful start of the 2008 season, the BMW Sauber team enjoyed being a strong performer at the front of the grid. At Barcelona, Kubica finished 4th, whilst Heidfeld finished out of the points in 9th. In Turkey, both BMW Sauber cars finished 4th and 5th, with Kubica finishing in 4th. However, Kubica was to make a great impact at the rain impacted and incident laden Monaco Grand Prix, he equalled Heidfeld's Australian Grand Prix finish of 2nd, just 3 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton, Heidfeld finished 14th 4 laps down with chassis problems.
The best result of the season came at the Canadian Grand Prix, with Kubica qualifying on the front row of the grid, in second behind Lewis Hamilton, with Heidfeld qualifying in 8th. In the race Kubica was in second, 7 seconds behind Hamilton, when Sutil crashed, bringing out the safety car. The top running cars pitted in under safety car, Kubica and Räikkönen stopped at the end of the pit lane, both leading Hamilton out of the pits, only for a red light to be on, Räikkönen and Kubica stopped, but only for Hamilton to crash into the rear of Räikkönen, with Rosberg crashing into the rear of Hamilton. Räikkönen, and Hamilton retired, with Rosberg only needing a new nose, Kubica emerged unscathed.
Heidfeld led after the only safety car period, when he pitted he had around a 25-second lead over Kubica, who was down in around 10th at the time. Heidfeld was released in front of his teammate, but was slow due to fueling levels and was passed by Kubica a lap later.
Kubica then built up a large lead, pitted and came out ahead of Heidfeld, and this was the way it would stay for the rest of the race, with Kubica finishing in first, 16 seconds ahead of his BMW Sauber teammate who was around 8 seconds ahead of Red Bull driver David Coulthard.
The F1.08 lost its performance somewhat relative to Ferrari and McLaren over the remainder of 2008 as they started to focus on the 2009 season. This irritated Robert Kubica [13] who was leading the championship at that time, but both drivers scored podium finishes and kept the team in third place in the Constructors' Championship, scoring more points than in the previous year.
A "B"-spec version of the F1.08 was used to evaluate 2009 aerodynamics, slick tyres and a prototype Kinetic Energy Recovery System. BMW Sauber were the first team to have tested all of these new features at the same time during a public F1 testing session. [14] The radically different appearance of the hybrid chassis compared to the status quo attracted attention, with BMW Sauber test driver Christian Klien describing it as "the worst [looking] Formula One car I have ever seen". [15]
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position) (results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Points | WCC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | BMW Sauber F1 Team | BMW V8 | B | AUS | MAL | BHR | ESP | TUR | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | CHN | BRA | 135 | 3rd | |
Nick Heidfeld | 2 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 10 | ||||||
Robert Kubica | Ret | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 | Ret | 7 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
During 2012 Sauber released a video and images of an F1.08 that had been sliced in half. Former car chief, Sergio Bonagura, came up with the idea in late 2009. The project began shortly after and was worked on behind the scenes taking around two years to complete. [16]
Robert Józef Kubica is a Polish racing and rally driver. In 2011, his right forearm was partially severed in a crash at the Ronde di Andora rally. He was the first and, as of 2023, the only Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One.
The 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on 8 April 2007 at the Sepang International Circuit and the second race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. Reigning world champion Fernando Alonso won the race from second on the grid, with McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton finishing second. This marked McLaren's first one-two finish since the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix. Previous race winner Kimi Räikkönen finished third. Räikkönen's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa started the race from pole position, but was passed by both McLarens in the first two corners of the first lap, eventually finishing in fifth place behind BMW's Nick Heidfeld.
The 2007 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 9 September 2007 at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Italy. It was the thirteenth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The 2007 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 1 July 2007 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours, France. It was the eighth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team won the 70-lap race starting from third position. Felipe Massa, who started the race from pole position, finished second in the latter Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton third in a McLaren car.
The 2008 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 20 July 2008 at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany. It was the 10th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship and was contested over 67 laps. It was won by Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team after starting from pole position. Nelson Piquet Jr. finished second for Renault, with Felipe Massa third for Ferrari.
The 2008 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 6 July 2008 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, England. It was the ninth race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. The race was held over 60 laps with a practice and qualifying round preceding the race.
The 2008 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 27 April 2008 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló, Spain. It was the fourth race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team won the 66-lap race starting from pole position. Felipe Massa finished second in the other Ferrari, and Lewis Hamilton was third in a McLaren.
The 2008 Turkish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 11 May 2008 at the Istanbul Racing Circuit, Tuzla, Turkey. The 58-lap race, the fifth of the 2008 Formula One World Championship, was won by Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team from pole position. Lewis Hamilton finished second in a McLaren, with Kimi Räikkönen third in the second Ferrari.
The 2008 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 25 May 2008 at the Circuit de Monaco; contested over 76 laps, it was the sixth race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. The race was won by the season's eventual Drivers' Champion, Lewis Hamilton, for the McLaren team. BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica finished second, and Felipe Massa, who started from pole position, was third in a Ferrari.
The 2008 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 8 June 2008 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the 7th race of the 2008 Formula One season. The 70-lap race was won by Robert Kubica for the BMW Sauber team after starting from second position. Kubica’s teammate Nick Heidfeld finished second with David Coulthard third in a Red Bull; taking the final podium of his F1 career. Lewis Hamilton, who started from pole position, failed to finish the race, retiring on lap 19 after crashing into the back of Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari car in the pit lane.
The 2008 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 22 June 2008 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, France. This race would be the last French Grand Prix for a decade, before returning in 2018 at Circuit Paul Ricard. The 70-lap race event, the eighth of the 2008 Formula One World Championship, was won by Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team starting from second position. Kimi Räikkönen, who started from pole position, finished second in the other Ferrari car; Jarno Trulli was third in a Toyota.
The 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 August 2008, at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, near Budapest. It was the 11th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Contested over 70 laps, the race was won by Heikki Kovalainen for the McLaren team, from a second position start. Timo Glock finished second in a Toyota car, with Kimi Räikkönen third in a Ferrari. It was Kovalainen's first Formula One victory, which made him the sport's 100th driver to win a World Championship race, and it was Glock's first podium finish. It also turned out to be the only F1 race Kovalainen ever won.
The 2008 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 24 August 2008 at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia, Spain. It was the 12th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team won the 57-lap race from pole position. Lewis Hamilton finished second in a McLaren car, with Robert Kubica third in a BMW Sauber.
The 2008 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 7 September 2008 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps near the village of Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium. It was the 13th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team won the 44-lap race, after the initial winner, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, was penalised for cutting a chicane and gaining an advantage over Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen.
The 2008 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 September 2008 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy. It was the 14th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Future four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel for the Toro Rosso team took a maiden victory, winning the 53-lap race from a maiden pole position. Heikki Kovalainen finished second in a McLaren, and Robert Kubica third in a BMW Sauber.
The 2008 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 12 October 2008, at the Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Japan. It was the 16th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Fernando Alonso for the Renault team won the 67-lap race from fourth position on the starting grid. Robert Kubica finished second for BMW Sauber, and Kimi Räikkönen third for Ferrari.
The 2008 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 19 October 2008 at the Shanghai International Circuit. It was the 17th and penultimate race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team won the 56-lap race from pole position. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa finished second, and Kimi Räikkönen was third in the other Ferrari. This was the 200th Grand Prix victory by a British driver.