The BMW Sauber F1.08 has been built on high-class foundations, its predecessor – the F1.07 – having comfortably lived up to everything expected of it. The designers, therefore, enjoyed a sound basis on which to build, and were under no pressure to take any major risks. “That’s why we decided to go for evolution rather than revolution,” says Technical Director Willy Rampf. Added to which, the engineers benefited from the achievement of the BMW Sauber F1 Team in establishing itself as the third-strongest team on the grid early on in 2007. “That gave us the chance to divert more resources to the development of the new car,” explains Rampf. “We put our faith in some logically consistent approaches, which led to interesting solutions.” The result is a car which Rampf describes as a “radical evolution”. The development of the chassis was particularly hard hit by the incorporation of the standard ECU, with the traction control and engine braking control systems among the casualties of the new standard unit. This had the effect of making the car considerably more nervous under acceleration and braking. In order to counteract the loss of traction control as far as possible, the engineers focused particular attention on improving mechanical grip. However, pre-season development work still has a long way to run after the presentation of the BMW Sauber F1.08 on 14th January 2008 – as Rampf explains: “We will come up with a new aerodynamics package before the first race of the season in Melbourne.” A notable side-effect of this will be a moderately striking change in the outward appearance of the F1.08.
