San Marino GP Sauber race notes

Nick Heidfeld finished seventh for Team RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS in today's 21st San Marino Grand Prix, but unfortunately Kimi Raikkonen had to retire on the 18th lap while fighting for eighth place when his steering wheel worked loose.

Peter Sauber
"Once again we were able to demonstrate that the C20 is competitive on all types of circuit. Both Kimi and Nick lost time behind Panis early on, but Kimi Raikkonen was running ahead of Frentzen, who finished sixth, when he had his problem with the steering wheel. So we could have scored points again today. The wheel should not be able to come loose. We are investigating carefully to identify the problem."

Nick Heidfeld
"I didn't make a great start because the bite point of the clutch was varying and I got too much wheelspin as a result. I was able to repass Irvine for 12th place on the second lap, and after that I was in the group being held up by Panis. In the first part of the race I was slightly quicker than Frentzen, but I lost a bit of ground when Irvine came out ahead of me after his pit stop and I had to pass him again. My car was better today than it was for qualifying, but the set-up was still not quite optimal. "

Kimi Raikkonen
"I don't know what happened when my steering wheel came loose as I went up the hill from Tosa on the 18th lap. As far as I'm concerned I put it on correctly just as I always have when I got into the car again on the grid; the next I knew it was loose in my hands and the car just suddenly turned sharp left and nosed into the wall. It's a great shame because it was running very well and I was very comfortable following the two Ferraris and Panis and was planning my overtaking move on the BAR when things went wrong."

- Sauber