BMW Sauber F1 Team Press Kit 2007

Contents. 1. The team. Next step. Successful debut season in 2006. Time flies. Who's who. Pit stop in Munich. Pit stop in Hinwil. 2. The season. Grand prix information. Looking ahead. Rule changes. 3. The technology. Chassis. Engine. Stats and facts. 4. The drivers. Nick Heidfeld. Robert Kubica. Sebastian Vettel. Timo Glock. 5. The management. Mario Theissen. Willy Rampf. 6. The history. BMW Motorsport. Sauber. 7. Press service. Contacts. Services. Editorial deadline: 11th December 2006.

1. The team.
Next step.
The target: more podium places.
They're certainly on the right path, but there's still a way to go. After a
promising debut year in Formula One, the BMW Sauber F1 Team is gearing up for
the next step in 2007. In the coming season, the newly established team will
continue to pursue its development agenda as planned. The sporting target is
clear: more podium places in 2007. At the same
time, staff expansion at Hinwil is scheduled to be completed, bringing the
total workforce in Switzerland to 430. By the end of the year the new building
complex will also be finished, and the BMW Sauber F1 Team will have reached its
full complement.

"In 2006 we exceeded our own targets. Now expectations are rising faster than
the team can keep up. That's the penalty for excelling yourself", says BMW
Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, going on to spell out the team's strategy:
"2007 is the second and final year of our development phase. We aim to make it
onto the podium on our own merit. If the top teams show any sign of weakness,
we want to be ready to jump into the breach. Wins on our own merit are not
realistically on the cards for 2007. We are aiming for that in 2008. Then in
2009 we want to be in contention for the championship title."

The BMW Sauber F1 Team's first year in motor sport's top-echelon event has
undeniably whetted the appetite for more. On the podium twice, in the points 15
times, a commendable fifth place in the constructors' championship - the BMW
Sauber F1 Team fared better than anyone had anticipated. "That really was more
than the experts would have expected of a newly formed team", says Theissen.
"The grand prix stage is gradually revealing the sheer hard graft and
single-minded effort going on behind the scenes."

125 employees have already been taken on at Hinwil and another 30 are to
follow, all of them having to be integrated there as well as being networked
with the almost 300-strong Formula One workforce in Munich. It is no easy task
when dealing with such numbers, as you simply can't afford to lose sight of the
big picture. So far everything has run according to plan.

Theissen is acutely aware that the rate of growth cannot be accelerated,
particularly as many members of staff have been temporarily relocated and are
carrying out their tasks in rented offices before moving into the finished
complex in Hinwil. This will house not only test facilities, laboratories and
development departments, but office accommodation as well. Things are still
rather crowded at Hinwil, but the end of the stopgap solutions is in sight.

For all the new faces there might be at Hinwil, those of the team drivers are
familiar ones. Nick Heidfeld (GER) and Robert Kubica (PLN) will be battling for
championship points as the team drivers. Sebastian Vettel (GER), who has been
working as the Friday driver ever since the Turkish GP in 2006, is the official
test and reserve driver. Theissen comments on this sparkling cocktail of
established routine and fresh blood: "We are very satisfied with our line-up.
Nick is our experienced man. He is fast and reliable and has the know-how to
take the team forward. All that makes him a firm fixture and an important
reference point for the engineers and the other drivers. Robert has already
proved that he is fast, and he'll catch up on the routine side. The two of them
work well together and engage in healthy competition out on the track. As for
Sebastian, we will be giving him the opportunity to drive on Fridays as well.
He will learn from the other two."