From Formula1 .com.
BMW Sauber's season in numbers - Part One
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=featureStoryCell><!-- ArticleBodyStart -->From budgets spent to speeds reached, and from points scored to kilometres raced, Formula One racing is a numbers game through and through. Did you know, for example, that BMW Sauber dispatch 32 tonnes of air freight to flyaway races? Or that the team ate 100 kilogrammes of fruit per Grand Prix weekend last year? The German-Swiss squad reveal just some of the more surprising facts and figures from their 2008 season, as they look ahead to 2009…
- Eleven podium places in 2008 were a record for BMW Sauber in their third season. Robert Kubica claimed one win, three second places and three third places. Nick Heidfeld finished in second place four times. Each of the two previous years had twice seen a driver ascend the podium.
- In 2008 no team could match the race lap tally of BMW Sauber. With 1,112 out of a possible 1,117 race laps, Heidfeld topped the driver reliability statistics ahead of Kubica (1,084 laps). The shortfall was not due to any technical faults: Heidfeld brought a damaged car across the finish line in Monaco four laps behind and was lapped at the season final in Brazil. Kubica was involved in an accident in Melbourne (-11), went off in Silverstone due to aquaplaning (-21) and likewise saw the chequered flag in Brazil one lap behind.
- In 2008, six F1.08 chassis were deployed on the track (02 to 07).
- On the 17 race weekends, a total of 26,700 kilometres were covered in the F1.08: 13,716 km by Heidfeld and 12,984 km by Kubica.
- Each race weekend involves a team of around 80. Apart from the team management and the three drivers, this includes 18 engineers, more than 30 mechanics, one or two logistics staff, hosts for sponsors and the Paddock Club, the press department and the catering staff.
- The workforce at the Hinwil and Munich locations totals 680. During the development phase, numbers in Switzerland were boosted from 275 to almost 430 employees. During the same period Munich saw its staff shrink from almost 300 to 250.
- There are generally six people occupying the ‘command centre’ on the pit wall stand. From left to right: Giampaolo Dall’Ara (Race Engineer Heidfeld), Mike Krack (Chief Race Engineer), Beat Zehnder (Team Manager), Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director), Willy Rampf (Technical Coordinator), Antonio Cuquerella (Race Engineer Kubica). They watch a total of 24 monitors, some of which are split screens offering multiple views. The official FOM pages giving lap times, the weather and news channel and the circuit map are watched by everyone. In addition, the cars’ telemetry data is available, as is the FIA’s marshalling system which tracks the position of all moving cars on the track (shown as coloured dots on the circuit map). Beyond this there is the team’s own car positioning system that enables pit stop forecasts and strategic decisions. On the pit wall, information is also gathered on the time and duration of other teams’ stops and on their tyres. Communication is via a total of six radio channels and seven intercom channels. Radio contact between the drivers and the team must be made accessible to the FIA.
- For flyaway Grands Prix, the team dispatches some 32 tonnes of air freight. That includes three chassis (two cars plus a spare chassis), six to eight engines, three to five sets of spare parts, 160 wheel rims, 100 radio sets, headphones, tools, computers and the pit garage equipment. Everything is packed into four ‘igloos’ (huge containers) from Hinwil, one igloo from Munich, two lower-deck containers and two ten-foot pallets from Hinwil and one from Munich.
- The transportation fleet for the European Grands Prix comprises five trucks from Hinwil and one engine truck from Munich.
- Seven trucks transport the team’s hospitality unit within Europe, four of which form an integral part of its sophisticated construction.
- The hospitality unit, which takes twelve men 36 hours to erect, has 37 plasma screens running. 40 kilometres of cables are laid for the power and network supply.
- The kitchen is kept busy feeding and watering team members and guests: in 2008 average consumption per Grand Prix weekend amounted to 140 kilograms of meat, 100 kg of fish, 100 kg of fruit, 90 kg of vegetables, 40 kg of cheese, 1,000 eggs, 1,800 bread rolls plus 2,500 litres of water and soft drinks.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
