Monaco GP: Sauber race notes

Nick Heidfeld finished 11th for Team Sauber Petronas in today's Monaco Grand Prix, but Heinz-Harald Frentzen was forced to retire after he crashed into a barrier on lap one.

Nick Heidfeld:

"I had a good run to the first corner and won two positions. Things went okay until after my first pit stop, when I got stuck behind Verstappen which cost me a lot of time. Then on my third set of tyres it took quite a long while to find a good balance and I suffered from understeer. But in general the car was good. However, all the top teams finished strongly so for me it was quite impossible to get into the points."

Heinz-Harald Frentzen:

"I simply made a mistake and went too fast into the new chicane. The car's undertray touched the kerb and the front tyres didn't have enough grip, so I went into the barrier. It is a shame that I had to finish the race in this way, because we were on a one-stop strategy. I live here and until the next Monaco Grand Prix I will be annoyed with myself every time I pass this place!"

Peter Sauber:

"Heinz-Harald had to retire very early. That was a real shame, because he had quite a lot of fuel on board and it would certainly have been interesting to see how his strategy paid off. Nick drove a rather discreet race, but I think the strategy we chose for him was right. After his first pit stop he came out behind Verstappen and unfortunately lost contact with Fisichella and da Matta, whom he had been keeping up with very easily until then."

Driver (Chassis)
Heidfeld (C22-02): 11th
Spare NH (C22-03)

Frentzen (C22-04): out in lap 1
Spare HHF (C22-05)

-sauber-