Monaco GP: Sauber race notes

Nick Heidfeld brought his Sauber Petronas C21 home eighth in today's Monaco Grand Prix, while Felipe Massa fortunately escaped unharmed from a high-speed accident at Ste Devote corner on the 66th lap.

Nick Heidfeld:

"The tyre degradation was worse than we expected so I was not able to run as long as we had hoped before my pit stop, which came on the 44th lap. All the way through I battled for traction, with understeer in the slow corners and oversteer in the faster ones. The car was very nervous. But the goal was to finish, and that's what I did."

Felipe Massa:

"I had a pretty exciting first Monaco Grand Prix. The car had lots of oversteer but I had a good battle with Bernoldi, which unfortunately ended when I braked a bit too late for the Ste Devote corner. We both went into the escape road and then I had to do a stop and go penalty."

"On my 64th lap nothing happened when I braked for Ste Devote, and the car just went straight on into the tyre wall. It was a big impact and I hit my nose on the steering wheel, but otherwise I'm okay. I'll be leaving tomorrow for the Silverstone test."

Peter Sauber (Team Principal):

"As anticipated, it was a difficult race for us, but we take heart that the structural integrity of the Sauber Petronas C21 enabled Felipe to get himself out of the cockpit and walk away from his high-speed accident at the first corner. Nick fought for grip all afternoon, and his tenacity and the car's reliability helped him to climb from 17th to eighth by the end."

Driver (Chassis)
Heidfeld (C21-06) 8th
Massa (C21-03) Retired lap 66, accident
Spare (C21-01)

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