 Robert Kubica was the first to take the F1.09 round the circuit in Valencia |
BMW Sauber are aiming for a serious championship challenge after unveiling their car for the 2009 season. Team drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld took the F1.09 for its maiden laps at Valencia's Ricardo Tormo track. BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen said the team were on course for a title bid after achieving their targets in each of the past three seasons. The team finished third in the constructors' championship in 2008, behind winners Ferrari and McLaren. Kubica and Heidfeld took first and second places in the Canadian Grand Prix as BMW collected 11 podium finishes last year.  | 606: DEBATE |
Pole Kubica led the drivers' championship following the win in Canada, while BMW topped the team standings after three races. Kubica, 24, said: "Last year we saw that by working together we can achieve good results, and in particular in the first half of the season we were title contenders. "But everybody remembers how it finished, so we will try to repeat the first half of the season and finish in a better way than last year." German driver Heidfeld, 31, said he was confident he could have a shot at the title. "I believe I can win when the car is right, the situation is there, and I believe I can fight for the championship," he said. New rules for the forthcoming season have introduced major changes to the cars in an attempt to make overtaking easier and improve the quality of racing. These include changes to the aerodynamics, the re-introduction of slick, untreaded tyres after 11 years with grooved rubber and the potential use of a kinetic energy recovery system (Kers), which stores energy that would have been dissipated during braking and reapplies it while the car is accelerating. | 2009 CAR LAUNCH DATES 9 Feb: Red Bull TBC: Toro Rosso, Force India, former Honda team |
To comply with those rules, the F1.09 has a bulkier front wing and a considerably smaller rear wing than its predecessor. Theissen said: "We communicated our targets for 2009 four years ago. "So far all the targets have been met, so there is no reason why we should abandon the final and most difficult one [fighting for the championship]. "We now want to fight for the championship with the other two big teams." As well as Kubica and Heidfeld remaining with the team, BMW have retained 26-year-old Austrian Christian Klien as test and reserve driver.
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