Mario Theissen, boss of BMW-Sauber, has said his team needs to take a conceptual leap before they can start to challenge Ferrari and McLaren.
Throughout the 2007 season, the BMW team has been thought of as the third team in the championship, quick, but not quick enough to properly challenge the top two teams. Theissen reckons that his team have now got as close to the leaders as they can with their current car, and that half their resources are already looking to the 2008 season.
“We need to do another big step regarding our competitiveness,†Theissen explained. “During a season you mainly build on the concept of a car, so this is rather a development of what you have, not a conceptual leap. We have seen this year that we can keep the gap to McLaren and Ferrari roughly the same, so our pace of development must be the same that is quite an achievement for a team which is still growing.
“Now, the further step in order to join the top teams at the front can only be done by a conceptual leap, meaning by a new car. Right now, we work with more than 50% of our capacities on the BMW-Sauber F1.08 already.â€
Theissen has confidence in his team and believes that they can make the jump up to challenge for the title.
“It is true that with our current line-up we have all the keys in our hands to get to the top of Formula 1 racing,†he continued. “That is reflected by our successes that we could achieve in a relatively short period of time. I am very happy with the constellation we are within our time-frame and we are ready to do the next step.â€
