Bobby Kubica and Nando Alonso are mates. They regularly play poker together and make jokes about Lewis Hamilton’s rapidly receding hairline (probably). But that doesn’t mean the big-nosed Pole would want Alonso on his team.
Kubica told Bild newspaper: “I think Fernando was never convinced about coming to BMW. As far as I know him, he would not have fit. There are differences of philosophies.”
We can read between the lines and assume that translates as follows: “BMW are boring German technicians who treat their drivers like flesh-covered robots - hot-blooded Fernando would hate that.”
BMW Sauber driver takes part in bowling competition
Formula One driver Robert Kubica is currently taking part in a bowling tournament in Vienna. Apparently, he started bowling in 2003 “because he was annoying at home”. His second sport (is it a sport?) was put on the backburner while he worked on getting his break in F1, but the Pole is now competing in tournaments once again. The video above shows Kubica talking about his bowling, including problems with a swelling thumb and comparisons with F1! If that doesn’t take your fancy, the occasional slips in his English are also worth watching: “I’m taking it like fun.”
BMW Sauber resists Spanish star, sticks with Kubica & Heidfeld
The chances of Fernando Alonso staying at Renault next season now look nailed-on, after BMW today announced its decision to retain Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld for 2009. With no seat at BMW, McLaren or Ferrari to tempt him, and on the back of a fine win at Singapore, Alonso knows he is best-off sticking with Flavio Briatore and co. for one more season, before he - almost certainly - moves to Ferrari in 2010.
Mechanics and engineers at BMW-Sauber had to evacuate their paddock following a bomb scare last night. The Swiss newspaper Blick reports that the team had to put its preparations for the Singapore Grand Prix on hold at around 9pm last night after reports of a bomb threat to their pits.
The team returned to work shortly afterwards once the area had been checked by police.
Obviously the headlines are dominated by Lewis Hamilton’s already infamous non-win at Spa on Sunday, but there was another XXL story to come out of a thrilling weekend in Belgium: Fernando Alonso is reportedly off to BMW Sauber in 2009, on a three-year contract.
Italian TV station Sky broke the story, although Alonso himself still refuses to make an official statement. “For weeks I have said I will only consider my future at the end of September. My priority at the moment is to help Renault to fourth place in the constructors’ championship,” he told Auto Motor und Sport.
German needs a good performance in Belgium to save his career
BMW technical boss Willy Rampf clearly wasn’t impressed with Nick Heidfeld’s sluggish drive at Valencia a couple of weeks ago. The German qualified in eighth but ended up out of the points, in ninth. “His pace was simply too slow,” Rampf said, not making any effort to honey his words.
Robert Kubica’s seat is assured for 2009 - indeed, BMW may struggle to keep the Pole if he continues to impress - but Heidfeld’s is in serious danger. If Heidfeld doesn’t score any points at Spa this weekend, his fate may be sealed.
Kubica has the most boring voice of any F1 driver, but we just about stayed awake until the end of his simulated lap - if you don’t know Spa that well, it gives you a good idea of what to expect this Sunday.
Ask any F1 driver today what his favourite circuit is, and the majority will answer Spa. You can see why. It’s fast, long, scenic, challenging and uncontrived - in short, it’s a stone-cold classic track. Above all though, it has a whiff of danger that so few tracks possess these days - f**k up at Spa and the consequences can be serious. No F1 driver wants to risk his life in a car, but they all love the turbo boost of adrenaline that comes with taking a corner like Eau Rouge flat out.
With the Belgian GP just a few days away, here’s what the key players have to say about Spa. And it’s all good:
