Q & A with BMW Sauber's drivers

Robert Kubica: I think even Mario mentioned this morning that quite a lot of effort and resources went to the 2009 car in second half of the season so of course I'm hoping that will pay off with this car, the F1.09. Last year was a good opportunity maybe not for the championship but to finish a bit higher, but it's completely different now.

Last season is gone and we have to concentrate on this year to try to extract the maximum potential from the car, which we are trying to do get everything sorted out for the first race.

Q. Robert, will the extra weight of KERS have an impact on you as one of the bigger drivers?

RK: Last year it was to quite a big limit, in the first half of the season I was very light, maybe too light I would say. It was bit of a strange direction because I can try to lose weight but there are smaller drivers already trying to lose weight. It's going to be a really big thing but we will have to wait and see. I feel that it will be an even bigger disadvantage to be taller and heavier, but I cannot change it.

Q. Christian, can you feel KERS recharging in the car and do you have to adjust anything for your braking?

Christian Klien: Not really. We set it up quite well actually. Of course the rear axle is braking as well as recharging the KERS, but it wasn't an issue and braking stability was actually great - a bit worse than with the normal car, but not dramatic.

Q. Robert, BMW were one of the first teams to test KERS. Do you think you have an advantage over the rest?

RK: It's a bit early to judge because we have still a bit of testing to go. We did a bit of testing in the winter, but of course the priority now is to understand the new car and understand which direction we should go with the new regulations - and then to work KERS as best as possible for the first race.

Once you start the first race it's very difficult to change problems. Of course you have wind tunnels and simulations in the workshop but the race track is very different. Without testing it's very important that we are performing well from the first race.

Q. Is there a little bit of nervousness this year because you don't know whether the team has got it right?

RK: At start of season everybody would like to win the championship and everybody targets winning. But there is only one winner, which is why the target is so hard to achieve - especially if you go against very tough and experienced competitors. It's not easy, everything has to be working 100 percent with a lot of regulation changes.

In previous years to develop cars you could take improvements from the last car, but now we are starting completely from new. We were running already in November and December a B car, but our competitors were running 2009-spec on a 2008 car so we don't really have any reference. It makes everything more exciting and gives a bigger question of where we are, if we are competitive, and if we are going in the right direction.

Nick Heidfeld: There is definitely more uncertainty but it is more exciting the chances are bigger, in both directions. Now you have to just improve on your own and of course everyone is optimistic in the beginning, and we hope that we can do it.

Q. Last year the car was not so good to start with but you made a big step before Melbourne. Is that possible this year?

NH: First of all it's not easy at all to achieve what we did last year. That was actually the first time I saw that happen in Formula One, to turn things around so quickly. Hopefully this year there will be no need to do the step because I hope that we will have a good car straight away.

It will be more difficult to know on the first lap whether it is good or bad because we don't have a very good comparison with the B car. The regulations have changed so much that we don't know if we should be half a second quicker. In the last couple of years we did know very well how much quicker we should be because the regulation changes were small, this year it is much more difficult.

Q. With the new regulations the slick tyres will give you a lot more grip, but what will the wet tyres be like with so much less downforce?

RK: With the regulation change the reduction of downforce is huge. Fortunately we get some grip back from slick tyres. I was wondering how slippery it might be in the wet because tyres not much more grip than last year. I am expecting quite difficult rain driving. I haven't had the opportunity to drive in wet conditions with reduced downforce yet.

Q. Christian, what is your job this year? You are a test driver with no testing...

CK: I think it's getting paid to have a holiday! (laughs) This year I am in the kitchen to prepare food for these drivers.

It's getting quite hard for test drivers. There is some testing before the start of the season but for the whole year there is really nothing at all apart from some straight line tests.

I think it's even more important for a team to have an experienced driver as their test and reserve driver otherwise it's very hard to be ready if the time comes to jump in the car. I hope they rethink this regulation because there is no time for a test driver to test. Maybe they could do something on a Friday like two or three years ago.

Q. Do you think the adjustable front wing is going to be something you use when driving on your own, or trying to overtake another car?

NH: I expect that it will not make a big difference when you follow another car. I think we might use it each lap just to change the balance for the performance of the car. My feeling right now is that it will not make much difference, but obviously I haven't tried it yet.

Q. Does KERS change the driving style?

RK: I don't think so at all. Maybe braking a little bit, but not with the kerbs or straight line or anything. I think it's very simple, you press the button to use it. It's a very simple and very quick change.

Q. Robert, have you discussed your views on last year's championship with the team?

RK: I don't think there was a lot to discuss, of course we had meetings reviewing the last season and previewing the new year, the new challenge. I will concentrate on this year. Sometimes it's very difficult to understand some situations and everybody has different views, so I accept it.

Q. Do you think BMW will be able to sustain a challenge all year long?

RK: I think last year was a very special year. I'm with BMW Sauber now for my fourth year. I joined when the team was completely new and during 2006 and 2007 we improved a lot. Last year we got lost I think sometimes. The development was not bringing the results we were expecting.

We were bringing new parts and they weren't bringing any performance benefit - that was the problem I think. Once you lost a bit your way it's very hard to come back because the other teams are working very hard as well.

Q. Nick, do you think the slick tyres will make it harder or easier for you to warm the tyres in qualifying?

NH: Last year was not always the same problem, it was very much depending on the circuit. Mainly it was heat up problems, but sometimes it was getting tyres in the right window. I don't think more grip will make it more difficult. It should be a bit easier but we have seen already in testing that we all had problems at Barcelona, so we are looking forward to hotter conditions to see what we really get from these tyres.

Winter testing is very cold. Here (in Valencia) it is cold today but at least the sun is out so the surface temperature will be up. At least Bridgestone is confident that once we get the sun up we will not see the same issues with the tyres that we have had in testing so far.

Q. Robert, what are your feelings about the proposed medals system?

RK: It will not improve racing. If most of the people think the driver who is fourth or third stays there because he likes it, or stays there because he likes to bring home good points, I can assure you that all drivers will try if they get even a small chance to overtake.

So I don't think it will change anything. It will only change that some drivers will get nothing and I don't know how the constructors championship would work.