US GP: Sauber Saturday qualifying notes

Team Sauber Petronas drivers Felipe Massa and Jacques Villeneuve will start tomorrow's United States Grand Prix from 10th and 12th positions respectively after this afternoon's qualifying session.

Jacques Villeneuve:

"It wasn't a bad lap but it wasn't quite as fast as I wanted. We thought we could get Juan Pablo but I guess I wasn't aggressive enough. The lap was too clean and there was less grip than there was this morning."

"The risk is that if you push too hard and make a mistake, you can lose half a second, so it's okay. The tyre degradation might be a little higher too with the higher tyre pressures, so it was hard to judge just how hard to push today. But it was okay."

Felipe Massa:

"I'm pretty happy to be starting in the top 10. I think my lap was okay, no mistakes, though I was struggling just a little bit in the final sector as I lost some grip. I think we are where we should be, so it's not too bad. We can fight for points from here."

Willy Rampf (Technical Director):

"Overall we are happy with our qualifying results, particularly when you look at just how close the times are here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Both drivers have strong starting positions."

Felipe Massa
Chassis: C24-06
1:11.555s, 10th

Jacques Villeneuve
Chassis: C24-04
1:11.691s, 12th

-sauber-