Feb.20 (GMM) Willy Rampf has defended the risks taken by BMW Sauber in the design of its imperfect new single seater for 2008.



Despite the German squad's intention to join the top two teams in the hunt for victories this year, the F1.08 has endured a troubled birth on the winter test tracks.



Rampf, BMW's technical boss, admits to the Swiss journal Motorsport Aktuell that the car is not as driver-friendly as the team wants.



"There is no question that the F1.08 is clearly faster than the F1.07," he insists, "but it is more complex and, for the drivers and the engineers, more difficult to find the full potential at all times and in all conditions."



BMW has made steady progress since taking over the Hinwil based Sauber team at the end of 2005, but Rampf admits that the design departments took "calculated risks" with the F1.08 to make the next step to winning races.



"We set ourselves the goal of joining the top teams," he said. "This cannot be achieved by being conservative, as any top team knows."