Zoom Two second-place finishes in a row for BMW Sauber

The 2008 Formula One season kicked off with two brilliant races in Australia and Malaysia, and it is becoming apparent that the BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers should be making positive headlines this year. In the first two rounds of the 2008 season, the team scored a total of 19 points - nine more than in the first two races of the 2007 season.

At Sepang, Robert Kubica secured the very first runner-up finish of his career, thus repeating Nick Heidfeld's achievement in Melbourne. The Munich and Hinwil-based squad can be proud of having made a truly impressive start to the season.

Therefore, it doesn't come as a surprise that the drivers have reached a positive conclusion following the Malaysian GP.

"I'm delighted with finally having claimed my second podium finish after Monza 2006," said Kubica. "In Australia I had to cope with a dose of bad luck, but this time everything went perfectly. The team did a fantastic job."

Heidfeld added: "I didn't expect that we would be able to match the pace of the McLarens in Malaysia, and even be slightly faster than them in the closing stages of the race. Compared to the off-season tests, we have made a huge leap."

While Kubica stepped into the limelight at Sepang by finishing runner-up and even having been race leader for eight laps, Heidfeld also made for some highlights during the course of the 56-lap race.

"Overtaking Alonso and Coulthard at the same time, in the opening stages of the race, was really big fun," the 30-year old admitted. "For me, this was the crucial move on the way to securing the best possible result after having lost several positions due to the close encounter with (Toyota driver) Trulli."

On the penultimate lap, the German demonstrated what he could have achieved without that incident: he lapped the 5.543-kilometre Sepang International Circuit in 1:35.366 minutes, thus setting the fastest lap of the race.

It was the first time he did so in the 136 GPs he has contested to date - and it also represented a 'premiere' for the BMW Sauber F1 Team.

"Obviously, our conclusion, following the overseas back-to-back races, is a very positive one: Robert on the first row of the Australian GP grid, two runner-up finishes, secured by Nick and Robert and eleven points scored at Sepang, Nick's fastest race lap and second position in the Constructors' Championship with 19 points under our belt - that's clearly more than we had expected prior to the season kick-off. It's a brilliant yield and a strong basis for the coming races," said Team Principal Mario Theissen.