BMW SAUBER F1 TEAM - EUROPEAN GP - PREVIEW

5th - 7th May 2006
5th of 18 World Championship rounds

Preview.

Munich/Hinwil, 28th April 2006. The BMW Sauber F1 Team looks forward with
heightened anticipation to its home race, the European Grand Prix at the
Nürburgring. Before the fifth race of the 2006 FIA Formula One World
Championship gets underway, there are a number of items on the agenda to be
ticked off: the BMW Sauber F1 Team Pit Lane Park is to be opened, fans will be
offered taxi rides around the grand prix circuit courtesy of F1 drivers, and
Formula BMW Germany will once again turn the spotlight on its young racing
talent under the gaze of their F1 heroes.

Meanwhile, test drives at Silverstone in the week following the San Marino
Grand Prix saw the team focus on the technical preparation of the BMW Sauber
F1.06. All three drivers - Nick Heidfeld, Jacques Villeneuve and Robert Kubica
- were out clocking laps of the English circuit.

Nick Heidfeld:
"Driving on the Nürburgring is always something very special for me. The race
is my personal home grand prix. The Ring is the circuit nearest to
Mönchengladbach, where I was born and grew up. As a three-year-old I learnt to
ride a bike on the Nürburgring. My father used to take me and my two brothers
to the Ring quite often, and in winter we even went tobogganing on the
Nordschleife. At the age of eight I had my first go-kart experience on the
Nürburgring - great childhood memories. I've also done a lot of races on the
Nürburgring - in Formula Ford, Formula 3, Formula 3000 and, ultimately, Formula
One. I've really enjoyed every single race in the Eifel and also won a few.
Last year I gained my first ever Formula One pole position there and came
second in the race. Of course that kind of success before a home crowd was
fantastic. I don't feel my home race puts unwanted pressure on me in the least.
On the contrary, I'm really looking forward to the support I'll get there.
Nowhere else will I see so many fans."

Jacques Villeneuve:
"The Nürburgring is not one of my favourite tracks, although in the past I have
done well there: I won my first and my last grand prix there in 1996 and 1997.
Last year the European Grand Prix was one of the most difficult races of the
season. Since they put the new layout in the first part of the circuit, I
really don't like the Nürburgring any more, so it is probably my least
favourite Formula One track. Still, I hope we can get some good results there
especially as the race is in Germany, and for BMW that makes it important. I
have always wished we could race on the Nordschleife. I have not had a chance
to go round it yet, but that really would be mega."


Robert Kubica:
"I'm looking forward to the second European track and I know the Nürburgring,
especially the GP version, although I have driven the Nordschleife once or
twice. It should be a good weekend, especially as it is the first grand prix of
the year in Germany. It's good for the team to be racing in BMW's home country.
The Pit Lane Park will be opened at the Nürburgring, which means that, in
addition to my free practice sessions on Friday, I will be busy with this on
Saturday and Sunday. I will enjoy the whole weekend, but hope our results turn
out better than at Imola.

I don't really like the track that much, but there are some nice parts,
particularly the quick corners. It's important to have a car that is very good
overall - in the quick corners, the slow corners and the chicanes. The
Nürburgring demands that kind of versatility."

Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director:
"Needless to say, the two Formula One events in Germany are of special
significance to BMW. Over the decades, BMW has celebrated spectacular racing
triumphs on the Nürburgring. It is a textbook example of how to preserve a
historic race track while at the same time implementing modern circuit
architecture, and it offers a very special racing atmosphere.

The Nürburgring ranks somewhere in the middle of GP circuits in terms of
full-throttle percentage and maximum speed. Its altitude of a good 600 metres
affects all the engines. Due to the thinning air, engine output is reduced by
around one percent for every hundred metres above sea level. Because both
engines made it to the finish in Imola after two race weekends, Jacques and
Nick will be lining up with fresh, modified BMW P86 engines. The basic pace of
the cars is there. If we succeed in converting that, we will have a chance of
earning points in the Eifel.

We've also got something special lined up for the Nürburgring: the BMW Sauber
F1 Team Pit Lane Park will be celebrating its debut there. You could say this
high-tech adventure park brings a piece of the pit lane right to the
spectators: it's an adventure complex where fans can experience Formula One
close at hand, and it's going to be something very special - something fans
have never seen before in F1."

Willy Rampf, Technical Director Chassis:
"The last two races have shown how crucial it is to make optimum use of the
tyres so as to exploit the full potential of the car. The Nürburgring track
offers plenty of grip, and rubber wear isn't too extreme, which means we will
be using a relatively soft compound. Cars tend to suffer understeer on this
track, and that will be the main consideration when it comes to the car's
set-up. It can be offset by the right aero balance or through mechanical
modifications. That's what we have been working on this week during testing at
Silverstone. In view of the close competition in the middle of the field at the
moment, everything has to be just right, especially if we want to achieve a
good position on the grid."

BMW Sauber F1 Team Pit Lane Park:
On the occasion of this year's grand prix at the Nürburgring, the Pit Lane Park
will throw open its gates for the first time. The 5,400-square-metre complex
(120 x 45 metres) with a 90-metre stretch of track offers the public a hands-on
experience of Formula One. Disney World acted in an advisory capacity during
the design of this high-tech visitor theme park. Capable of taking in up to
16,000 visitors a day, the complex comprises:

- show cars on display in the pit lane garages,

- a photo opportunity in racing overalls,

- numerous technical exhibits,

- participation in an interactive Formula One quiz,

- lining up teams to allow the public to test their skills in the Pit Stop
Challenge,

- driving in the simulator,

- a BMW Sauber F1 Team merchandising shop,

- Speaker's Corner, where fans can put questions to the drivers several times
over the weekend,

- repeated starts by the Formula One race car and a Formula BMW - with Dirk
Müller and Sebastian Vettel respectively behind the wheel.

- Admission is free and open to anyone with either a ticket for the relevant
event day at the Nürburgring or a BMW vehicle registration document together
with the car key.

- The official opening ceremony of the Pit Lane Park starts at 19.00 hrs on
Thursday in the presence of BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen and the BMW
Sauber F1 Team drivers. The media and anyone with an FIA Formula One pass are
also invited to attend.

- There are plans to set up the Pit Lane Park in Barcelona, Silverstone,
Montreal, Monza and Shanghai as well.

Opening times of the Pit Lane Park at the Nürburgring:
Thursday - 10.00-14.00 hrs
Friday - 10.00-19.00 hrs
Saturday - 10.00-19.00 hrs
Sunday - 10.30-14.30 hrs

History and background:
Many chapters of success in BMW Motorsport history have been written on the
Nürburgring. They include 18 overall victories (among them eight one-two wins)
in the Nürburgring 24-Hour Race, the last in this long line being claimed in
2005 with the BMW M3 GTR. 2003 saw BMW celebrate a one-two Formula One finish
in the Eifel in partnership with WilliamsF1.

As a partner of the Nürburgring GmbH, BMW runs a test centre at the foot of the
legendary Nordschleife which, after a three-year refurbishment, is one of the
most advanced around. Probably the best known of BMW's Driver Training centres
is also based at the Nürburgring, offering a wide range of courses in safe and
sporty driving. The Nürburgring Erlebnis Welt (adventure world) next to the
start/finish area boasts the world's only permanent BMW racing car exhibition.
Meanwhile, visitors can keep pace - literally - with the fascinating experience
of the Nordschleife as a passenger in the BMW Ring Taxi, a 507 bhp M5 driven by
seasoned racers such as Hans-Joachim Stuck, Sabine Schmitz and Claudia Hürtgen.

2006 sees the 36th Formula One Grand Prix staged at the Nürburgring. The first
track variant was opened on 18th/19th June 1927. On 29th July 1951, Formula One
made its first appearance in the Eifel for the German Grand Prix. In the late
1950s and early 1970s the German GP temporarily moved to the Berlin Avus track
and Hockenheim respectively. The horrific accident in which Niki Lauda was
involved on 1st August 1976 marked the end of the legendary Nordschleife as a
Formula One circuit.

On most days of the year the public can pay to drive around the Nordschleife
with their own car or motorcycle.

The new Nürburgring was inaugurated on 12th May 1984. Since then, Formula One
has stopped off in the Eifel ten times for the European Grand Prix, twice for
the Luxembourg GP (1997 and 1998) and once for the German Grand Prix (1985).

Between 1999 and 2001 the start/finish area underwent modernisation, including
the construction of a new pit building and press centre.

2002 saw the completion of the Mercedes Arena, a stadium-like section that
extended the course by some 600 metres.

As part of the support programme for the 2006 European Formula One GP, Formula
BMW Germany will be running its fifth and sixth races here. Formula BMW - now
comprising four championships (Asia, Britain, Germany, USA) - allows teenagers
to drive highly advanced single-seaters powered by 140 bhp BMW engines.

Schedule for group interviews at the weekend:

Thursday:
13.30-13.50 - Nick Heidfeld - written press
13.50-14.00 - Nick Heidfeld - TV
14.00-14.10 - Jacques Villeneuve - TV
14.10-14.30 - Jacques Villeneuve - written press
14.00-14.10 - Robert Kubica - TV
14.10-14.30 - Robert Kubica - written press
15.30-16.00 - Mario Theissen - TV and written press

Friday:
16.15-16.35 - Jacques Villeneuve - written press
16.35-16.45 - Jacques Villeneuve - TV
16.15-16.35 - Robert Kubica - written press
16.35-16.45 - Robert Kubica - TV
16.30-16.40 - Nick Heidfeld - TV
16.40-16.55 - Nick Heidfeld - written press

Saturday:
15.05-15.10 - Jacques Villeneuve - TV
15.10-15.30 - Jacques Villeneuve - written press
16.30-16.40 - Nick Heidfeld - TV
16.40-17.00 - Nick Heidfeld - written press
17.30-18.00 - Mario Theissen - TV and written press

Sunday:
Approx. 30 minutes after the end of the race, Heidfeld, Villeneuve, Theissen
and
Willy Rampf will be on hand at the Team's motorhome.

Latest footage at www.thenewsmarket.com
Latest photos at www.press.bmwgroup.com