Hungarian GP: Sauber race notes

Felipe Massa and Nick Heidfeld brought their Sauber Petronas C21s home seventh and ninth in today's Hungarian Grand Prix.

Nick Heidfeld:

"I made a pretty good start and things were fine going into Turn One, but there was a lot of traffic in Turn Two with two cars in particular - I think it was Trulli and Raikkonen - trying not to collide with each other on the outside. That lost me some ground and some momentum as everyone got squeezed together. Then Coulthard outbraked me going into Turn One on the second lap. After that I could settle down but the balance of the car wasn't quite right all through the race so it was a hard afternoon for me. After his last stop Trulli was in trouble for a few laps and I was able to get close until he pulled away again, but I was able to close on him again at the end."

Felipe Massa:

"I made a great start and it felt really good running in fifth place for so long. In the first stint the car felt nervous; it was definitely better in the second, but then became nervous again on the third set of tyres. I just couldn't hold off Fisichella when I came out of the pits, and towards the end I thought it better to finish than risk having an accident with him trying to get sixth place. Naturally I'm very disappointed not to score a point, but I think it was a fantastic race for me this afternoon and another chance to prove what I can do."

Peter Sauber (Team Principal):

"We had an excellent qualifying and that was reflected in Felipe's start and his performance in the early laps. He drove a good race, but unfortunately we could not score any points. That shows again just how tough Formula One is today, and how close the competition is."

Driver (Chassis)
Heidfeld (C21-06)
Massa (C21-04)
Spare: (C21-01)

-sauber-