BMW Sauber F1 Team - San Marino GP - Preview

21 - 23 April 2006
4th of 18 World Championship rounds

Preview.

Munich/Hinwil, 14 April 2006. The globetrotters are coming home for the first
race of the European season in Formula One: the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.
Shorter journeys help to relieve some of the workload on the teams, as does
having their trucks and motorhomes around, with their workshops, offices and
canteens.

The BMW Sauber F1 Team has completed another round of testing at Paul Ricard
and Barcelona and will line up at Imola with a series of aerodynamic
modifications to the BMW Sauber F1.06. Drivers Nick Heidfeld and Jacques
Villeneuve are aiming to follow up their satisfying results in Australia -
where they finished in fourth and sixth positions respectively - with another
good showing at the challenging circuit in northern Italy.

Nick Heidfeld:
"The San Marino Grand Prix is the first race of the season in Europe and, from
experience, this is when the teams come out with their first major round of
modifications. We're no different and have tweaked one or two elements of the
car's aerodynamics since the last race. I'm not expecting these changes to
shake up the field completely, but they might just result in a readjustment in
the balance of power. As far as the track itself is concerned, two things in
particular stand out. Firstly, that we drive very hard over the kerbs at Imola
and need a car that can deal with that kind of treatment. Second, Imola is very
tough on the brakes, almost as tough as Canada. That makes efficient brake
cooling very important, although the lower top speeds with the V8 engines will
make this slightly less of an issue. As far as the travelling is concerned, the
start of the European season means things are a little calmer again - despite
the testing we've been doing. I really hope we can build on the progress we've
made so far this season at Imola.�?

Jacques Villeneuve:
"Imola has always been a good track for us as it was there where we got our
best result last year. It is a fun track but it is the second race on the
engine so we will have to be a little bit careful. It is a very different track
to the first three of this year, with a lot of chicanes and kerbing, but it is
fun to drive and very difficult to overtake.�?

Robert Kubica:
"Imola is one of my favourite tracks in Europe and I am happy to return there
after a victory in 2002, which was the first time I drove in Formula Renault.
Unfortunately I am not racing but I hope I will help the team to get as much
data as possible from the Friday pre-testing and I hope to do a good job. It is
the first time this season we will race on what I would say are the "old�? kind
of tracks, because Imola is an old-style circuit with all the kerbs. Bahrain
and Malaysia are very flat with no kerbs, but here you have to jump over the
chicane. It is something different but I like all types of tracks, as the new
ones have larger run off areas and those kinds of features. I like Imola, I am
happy I am back in Italy where I have lived for five years so I am really
looking forward to it. It is also the first time I shall be with the team on a
circuit I know.�?

Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director:
"Everybody looks forward to the start of the European season - with both people
and materials having less distance to travel - and the working conditions in
the paddock are better. When we get to Europe, the teams suddenly become
home-owners, with the motorhomes set up for the first time in the year. We will
have a new motorhome this year and are looking forward to settling in. However,
the F1 village will have to squeeze into one of the smallest paddock areas for
the first European race of the season.�?

Both Nick and Jacques will be using the same BMW P86 engines they finished
with in Australia. With the short development time we had for the new engines,
that continues to present a challenge for the team. Both engines are still at
the stage of development we had reached prior to the race in Melbourne. And,
with its high downforce requirement and uphill sections, Imola is a track which
generally puts a lot of strain on the engines.�?

Willy Rampf, Technical Director Chassis:
"Our goal is to carry over the momentum generated by the positive result in
Melbourne into the European season - and the team's been working very hard to
make sure that happens. Indeed, the BMW Sauber F1.06 will line up for the San
Marino Grand Prix with both a modified rear section and a new front wing, which
promises increased downforce. Added to which, we're working intensively with
our partner Michelin to get a better handle on the problems we've experienced
in bringing the tyres back up to temperature.
Imola not only demands a lot of downforce, it also places huge pressures on the
brakes. For this reason we use maximum brake cooling and the optimum brake
specification for this race. The kerb stones in Imola are fairly high and the
drivers have to be able to drive straight over them to set a good lap time.
This places considerable mechanical loads on the chassis and suspension.
Overtaking is difficult as a rule, as the straights between the chicanes are
not long enough to pass. That makes a good grid position and the right race
strategy all the more important. I'm confident that we are in the position to
go out there and put in a good performance once again.�?

Facts and figures:
Circuit/Date: Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola/23 April 2006
Start time (local/UTC): 14:00 hrs/12:00 hrs
Lap/Race distance: 4.933 km/305.609 km (62 laps)

Winner 2005: Fernando Alonso (Mild Seven Renault F1 Team), 1 hr 27:41.921 min

Pole position 2005: Kimi Räikkönen (West McLaren Mercedes), 2:42.880 min
(aggregate of 1st and 2nd Qualifying)

Fastest lap 2005: Michael Schumacher (Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro), 1:21.858 min
on lap 48

Current lap record Michael Schumacher (Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro), 1:20.411 min
(2004)

After three rounds of the 18-race World Championship, the BMW Sauber F1 Team is
lying in fifth place in the constructors' standings on ten points.

History and background:
At Imola the cars run in an anti-clockwise direction. The particular strain
this puts on the neck muscles is also something the drivers will experience in
Istanbul and at Interlagos.

The tradition of motor racing at Imola goes back to the 1940s, when the first
races were held on public roads. In 1950, work began on the first race-track
here, which was inaugurated in 1952. On April 21 1963, Formula One cars made
their debut on the Imola circuit. The winner of this race, which was not part
of the World Championship, was Jim Clark in a Lotus. Public roads still formed
part of the course, and that did not change until 1979. On September 19 of that
year, another Formula One race was staged outside the World Championship - the
Dino Ferrari Grand Prix.

Imola has hosted a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship every year
since 14 September 1980. The debut event was the Italian Grand Prix. Since
1981, the race has been held under the banner of the San Marino Grand Prix. To
date, a total of 25 World Championship races have been held at the Imola
circuit.

Far-reaching alterations were made to the circuit following the fatal accidents
suffered by Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna on 30 April and 1 May 1994
respectively.

Since 1988 the circuit has been known as the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
Imola. Back in 1970, the circuit had been dedicated to Dino Ferrari, but after
the death of his father, Enzo, in 1988, the latter's name was added as well.

The town of Imola is located in the Emilia Romagna region of the Italian
province of Bologna and has a population of around 65,000. The historic
Republic of San Marino, after which the Grand Prix is named, covers an area of
just 60 square kilometres and lies to the southeast of Imola.

At Imola on 15 April 2001, BMW celebrated its first win since its return to
Formula One in 2000 in partnership with the Williams team. Ralf Schumacher was
the victorious driver.

Preparations continue apace for the BMW Sauber F1 Team PIT LANE PARK. The
high-tech theme park for fans will be erected for the first time at the race
following San Marino at the Nürburgring.

Current footage available at www.thenewsmarket.com.
Current images available at www.press.bmw.com.