SEPANG: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has lauded the performance of the BMW Sauber Formula One team at the 10th Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix. 

The team’s drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld finished second and sixth respectively in the race. Petronas is a premium partner of the team.  

“We have gotten second place for the first time in the 10 years the race has been here. This is a good accomplishment,” the Prime Minister told reporters yesterday after attending the race.  

The team used to be known as the Sauber Petronas team until 2005, when it was taken over by BMW. 

Abdullah had earlier presented the winner’s trophy to Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen, led the driver’s parade in a 1964 Mercedes-Benz 300S and also gone on a tour of the team garages. 

The race also saw another milestone, when it breached the 125,000-spectator target. 

SIC general manager Datuk Azmi Murad said 126,690 people, the highest since 1999, thronged the Sepang F1 Circuit.  

Over the past three days, more than 176,000 fans had come to watch the action at the circuit. 

In the first year of the race, some 80,000 fans came to the circuit on race day. Last year, it was about 115,000 people, compared with 107,000 in 2006. 

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