By BMW Sauber F1 Team - March 29 2007

Bad weather and reliability problems hit BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, who could not complete enough laps today. Most of the teams have agreed to extend the testing at Malaysia for one extra day, except Toro Rosso.

Test in Sepang. 27th – 30th March 2007
Day three – Thursday

Programme: After some rain in the early morning the track dried out quickly but had lost some of its rubber and grip developed during the first two days of testing. After 35 laps on used tyres at 12:00 hrs an oil leak caused a fire on Nick’s car. Although he had parked the car nearby some marshals it took them a long time to extinguish the fire which caused a lot of damage. After almost four hours of repair work, the car was ready to run again but the skies opened for a downpour which lasted almost until the end of the session.

Weather conditions: rain in the early morning, then dry, hot, humid and overcast, rain again in the late afternoon. Temperatures: Air: 26/30°C, Track: 29/34°C

Number of drivers participating: 10

Fastest lap overall: 1:35.918 min, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren Mercedes

Nick Heidfeld: Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.07-05 / BMW P86/7 V8
Test kilometres today: 194 km (35 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:38.551 min

Like several other teams, the BMW Sauber F1 Team has decided to extend the Sepang test for one more day. Nick will continue to drive tomorrow. The weather forecast looks encouraging.