BMW thought tyre gamble was too late

Heidfeld pitted for rain tyres two laps from the end of the Spa-Francorchamps when a deluge swamped the track - and staged a dramatic last-lap climb through the field from seventh to grab what eventually became second.

And although the result delivered yet another podium finish for BMW Sauber, team principal Theissen confessed that he was unsure at the time whether or not Heidfeld had done the right thing in coming in for the tyres.

"I thought it was too late already," said Theissen. "But it was worth to take the risk because it would have been two points only, so you can take some risk in this position. And it turned out to be the perfect move.

"I didn't watch the TV screen on the last lap, just the positioning screen as he overtook one car after another."

Theissen said that he left the decision to change tyres entirely up to Heidfeld and his race engineer.

"You need two guys. You need the driver who has to tell what he is feeling and what he thinks is better, and in the end he has to decide.

"But then the race engineer has an overview of what the others do, how much they are struggling and only the race engineer can then judge whether it is possible to make up for 25 seconds in two laps."