Monaco GP: Sauber Thursday notes

Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa finished in 15th and 16th places respectively after today's first free practice sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Nick Heidfeld:

"I'm not completely satisfied with the balance and grip of the car, which felt the way that the C20 did here last year. It was jumping about over the bumps and wasn't easy to drive. But we did a lot of laps, on our normal level of fuel for a first practice day, and have a direction to pursue for practice and qualifying on Saturday."

Felipe Massa:

"It's been quite a baptism for me here in Monaco! Early this afternoon I had a spin going into the chicane and was very lucky not to hit anything. After that the car began to understeer a bit, but the balance was coming back and I was on what would have been my fastest lap when I made a little mistake in Tabac and the car started to slide. I hit the wall on the outside with the rear wheel, and then the front hit too and that was it for the day."

Peter Sauber (Team Principal):

"On his first visit to Monte Carlo Felipe found, as rookies often do, that it can exact a high price for a small mistake. But he will improve on Saturday. We did some good preparation work for the race with Nick, but we could not find the right balance to make the most of the tyres and achieve an optimal lap time."

Driver (Chassis)
Heidfeld (C21-06) 1:21.638s, 15th
Massa (C21-03) 1:21.683s, 16th
Spare: (C21-01)

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