Italian GP Sauber race notes

Jean Alesi: I made a great start, but going into the first chicane I lost a bit of momentum because I had to avoid Michael (Schumacher), who had not made such a good start. But once I got back into the rhythm I could run strongly.

This morning I had done a back-to-back run with my race car and the spare, and I preferred the spare, which was the chassis I used originally on Friday. I got a nice surprise, because it felt a lot better. I had a car I could race, and it was very, very good. I am happy with fifth place and more championship points for the team.

Johnny Herbert: Unbeknown to me, some pliers had been left in the footwell of my car before the race began. I made a reasonable start and gained a couple of places, but from the second lap the pliers began to foul the brake pedal and twice I had to adjust the brake balance to compensate. The first time I lost a place to Barichello, and then I had a couple of other moments. I couldn't be exactly sure what was going on, only that the car suddenly felt inconsistent and very difficult to drive. As I went into the second Lesmo on the 13th lap the pedal felt odd as the pliers interfered again, and I spun into the gravel. As you can imagine, I am not at all happy.

Peter Sauber: Once again Jean had a fantastic race. He was concentrated and controlled from the first to the last minute. Our pit stop was excellent - we were the fastest of all the teams on a single-stop strategy - and I congratulate and thank the crew for that. In the first part of the race Johnny had a spin into the gravel, and this was entirely the responsibility of the team - sorry Johnny.

Weather: Warm and sunny.