BMW Sauber F1 Team
The 2006 Season in review

Successful debut season in 2006.

The team made light of an extremely short start-up phase – there were just six months between BMW’s decision to acquire a majority stake in Sauber and the team’s presentation – to achieve surprising success in its debut season. Between them, BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers made 19 appearances in the qualifying top ten (Heidfeld = 10, Kubica = 5, Jacques Villeneuve = 4), while the best starting position was Heidfeld’s third place on the grid in Monza. The team also recorded 15 points finishes (Heidfeld = 10, Villeneuve = 4, Kubica = 1) and got its hands on two trophies, courtesy of Heidfeld’s third place in Budapest and Kubica’s repeat performance in Monza. The reliability rankings, meanwhile, show the BMW Sauber F1 Team in fourth position with 22,281 race kilometres completed. The team finished its first season on the grid in fifth place in the constructors’ standings.   

“Even more important than the good results”, underlined Theissen, “were our consistent improvements in performance. Far from falling back relative to our competitors, we managed to achieve measurable advances under the pressurised conditions of a season in progress. That showed us that we’re on the right path.”

The BMW Sauber F1 Team started the 2006 season with Heidfeld and Villeneuve as its race drivers, while Kubica belied his lack of experience by posting some outstanding performances from the outset in both testing and during practice on the Fridays of the race weekends.

At the 13th grand prix of the year in Budapest, Kubica was handed his chance of a race drive in the second F1.06 alongside Heidfeld. The Pole did everything asked of him under extremely challenging conditions, and crossed the finishing line in seventh place having raced for 51 laps on intermediate tyres. However, a combination of unexpectedly high tyre wear and an empty fire extinguisher – the container had shed its two-kilogram load of “light water” in a brush with a barrier – meant that Kubica’s car was found to be two kilos short of the minimum weight in the post-race technical inspection.

His consequent disqualification, though, could not detract from a consummate exhibition of racing skill. A few days later the team parted company with Villeneuve, and Vettel took over the role of Friday driver at the Turkish GP. Providing sound technical feedback and topping the time lists, he duly followed in Kubica’s footsteps to be confirmed as test and reserve driver for 2007.

The season that was: Constructors Standing

The season that was: Drivers' Championship

BMW Sauber F1 Team Drivers' Point Spread