BMW Sauber confirm Heidfeld and Kubica for 2008

Germany's Nick Heidfeld and Poland's Robert Kubica will continue as BMW Sauber drivers next year, the Formula One team said yesterday.

"Both Nick and Robert have delivered very strong performances in the course of this season," said team boss Mario Theissen in a statement before this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul.

"They have played a decisive role in enabling the BMW Sauber F1 team to firmly establish itself as the third best team in Formula One."

Heidfeld, 30, and Kubica, 22, have scored 71 points between them this season with BMW now 38 points clear of fourth placed Renault in the constructors' championship.

Heidfeld is fifth in the drivers' standings with 42 points and there was no surprise in the Swiss-based team confirming the line-up.

Theissen said Heidfeld had made a substantial contribution while Kubica, in his first full season, was a real talent for the future.

"In his brief Formula One career so far he has established himself as equal to Nick. He is extremely fast and, for somebody so young, already has a very sound understanding of technical matters," he said.

"Robert is a rough diamond we want to polish up into a winning driver."

BMW said an announcement on their test and reserve driver would be made later in the year.

Germany's Sebastian Vettel, who started the season in that role, is now racing for Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso.