Monaco GP: Sauber Saturday qualifying notes

Team Sauber Petronas drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa will start tomorrow's Monaco Grand Prix from 10th and 17th places respectively after this afternoon's qualifying sessions.

Giancarlo Fisichella:

"I'm pretty happy with the way things went this afternoon. It was a very good lap, apart from the first corner, Ste Devote, where I braked a little bit too late and locked the front wheels. Considering the level of fuel we have I am very satisfied. It is a great feeling to be right on our target here, especially as I love the Monaco circuit. Our tyre degradation was better today than on Thursday and it will be better still in the race, so I am optimistic I will be able to score some more points."

Felipe Massa:

"To be honest, I wasn't very happy with my lap. The car did not feel as good as it did this morning. The balance was not stable and the handling was more nervous on turn-in. For sure I lost a lot of time up to the chicane. It wasn't any one major thing, I just lacked grip all the way round. We'll just have to see what happens tomorrow."

Peter Sauber (Team Principal):

"Congratulations to Giancarlo. He was able to reach our target starting position. The 10th slot on the grid allows us to hope for a good race with a positive outcome. Unfortunately, Felipe was not as happy with his performance and was not able to achieve the place that he and the team had hoped for. He will have a chance to correct that tomorrow in what is always a very tough race here."

Giancarlo Fisichella
Chassis: C23-04
Position: 10th, 1:15.352

Felipe Massa
Chassis: C23-06
Position: 17th, 1:16.248

-sauber-