BMW bid farewell to F1 on a high note

Sunday 1st November 2009

BMW said their farewells to Formula One in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, ending their four-year stay at a fully fledged Constructor with a fifth-placed finish.

2009 has been a difficult year for the BMW-Sauber team as they struggled to find the form that saw them claim third place in last year's teams' Championship, the end result being BMW's withdrawal from Formula One.

The team, though, managed to end their season - and their F1 career - on a good note as Nick Heidfeld raced to fifth place in Sunday's season finale. In doing so, he secured sixth place for BMW in the Constructors' Championship.

"That was once again a strong weekend for our team in the season's finale," said team boss Mario Theissen. "Starting from eighth Nick consistently moved up to fifth thanks to a very good performance.

"Robert was unlucky three times during the race: After each pit stop he came back on the track behind a slower car, and due to the collision with Buemi he lost one position.

"But the most important point is that with today's result we gained another place in the Constructors' Championship.

"So we ended a very tough season with some strong results. A big thank you goes to the whole team - both here at the track as well as in Munich and Hinwil."

Heidfeld, who has yet to secure a race-seat for next year's Championship, was happy with his performance in the midst of an emotional weekend for the German and his team.

"I am very happy with my fifth place. It was a good race in which I was able to get the maximum out of the car and score four points, which was enough to reach our target for the end of the season to overtake Williams in the Constructors' Championship," he said.

"After I have been a little unlucky in recent races, this time I was really able to exploit the car's potential. For quite a long period I was able to go at the same speed as the World Champion's car, the Brawn. The strategy to go for a rather long stint paid off and the track was even more fun when it had more rubber on it.

"It is a pleasing end to our last season together. It now becomes very emotional. During the last laps I had to pull myself together in order to keep my concentration."

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