Heidfeld hails 'super' start to 2007

The German driver confirmed BMW's strong form on Saturday by qualifying in third position, and he completed his positive weekend with a solid drive to fourth after a great start, in which he jumped world champion Fernando Alonso to move into second place.

"I had a very good start, which was an even better one than Kimi and managed to pass Fernando," said Heidfeld. "Of course I hoped to stay in front of him, but realistically I knew the McLarens were quicker than us.

"Thinking about how happy we are, you should not forget where we came from as we started last season eighth in the constructors' championship.

"Our pace is really good and fourth is a super start to the season. I feel very sorry for the team with Robert's retirement, as he was also very strong. My tyre strategy to take the softer ones first was riskier.

"I knew after the first stop there was the danger of getting stuck in traffic, and this is what happened, but I took the risk anyway. The race was a lot of fun, but in the final laps I was a bit lonely. Mechanically my car was perfect."

Teammate Robert Kubica was not as fortunate after showing impressive race pace too.

The Pole was hit by a gearbox problem that forced him into retirement on lap 39.

"My pace was good but unfortunately we had a gearbox problem," he said. "I was stuck in fifth gear and that was the end of my race. The only good thing is we know what the problem is and we now have to resolve it.

"In the race I was much heavier than Nick and was able to match his speed. My strategy was to attack towards the end of the race.

"My last stint was going to be very short, so I would have had an even better performance then, but unfortunately I didn't get that far."