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Kubica scores 2 points in Fuji's rain "lottery"
By BMW Sauber F1 Team
September 30 2007
In the Japanese Grand Prix, the 15th race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, Robert Kubica scored two points for the BMW Sauber F1 Team by finishing seventh. Nick Heidfeld was unlucky and retired his BMW Sauber F1.07 on the penultimate lap, while running in sixth place.


The Grand Prix proved to be a true thriller. It was held in heavy rain and the first 19 laps were run behind the safety-car. During this period, the two Ferraris - the only cars that started the race on intermediates - pitted for heavy-rain tyres, thus helping Nick and Robert to move up to third and seventh positions respectively.

When the race finally got underway, Nick was hit by Honda's Jenson Button and dropped back to eleventh position, with Button having to pit for a new front wing. At the same time, Robert benefited from the incident and continued in seventh position.

On lap 27, Robert gained another position when McLaren's Fernando Alonso pitted from 2nd position and rejoined behind the Pole. Race leader Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), however, pitted one lap later and succeeded in continuing in third position. In the subsequent laps, Robert - who hadn't pitted yet - delivered a stunning performance. He passed the Renaults of Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen for fifth and fourth position and proved to be clearly quicker than Hamilton with his heavy McLaren.

On lap 35, the Pole went on the inside of Hamilton's car, the two collided and spun. Both drivers were able to continue. Robert was now running ahead of Hamilton. However, he pitted two laps later and rejoined the race in 13th place. Unfortunately, the marshals assessed Robert's move as over-optimistic and imposed a drive-through penalty that cost him more time. Nevertheless, Robert refused to let this decision spoil his race. By the final lap he had battled his way back up to sixth position. Then, in the final three turns of the race, he was involved in a fierce battle with Felipe Massa (Ferrari). Both cars passed each other several times but in the end the Ferrari driver had the upper hand and Robert had to settle for seventh, thus scoring two points for the Munich and Hinwil based squad.

Nick also experienced numerous 'ups and downs'. Following the incident at the "start" on lap 20, the German drove a fine race, passing several cars and also benefiting from the numerous incidents. On lap 36, he pitted from sixth position and dropped back to 14th but battled his way back. On the penultimate lap he seemed to be on his way to finishing sixth. But it wasn't to be. On the very final lap, Nick suddenly stopped at the pit lane exit, thus having to leave Fuji empty-handed.

Despite this bad luck, the BMW Sauber F1 Team will travel to China in a confident mood. In spite of having scored only two points, Robert and Nick once again demonstrated the BMW Sauber F1.07's competitiveness and may hope to score more points next week at Shanghai. Hamilton claimed victory and now leads the Drivers' Championship by 12 points ahead of his team-mate Alonso, who crashed out of the race on lap 42.

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