By Jamie Makin
May 30 2004

Team SAUBER PETRONAS drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa finished sixth and ninth respectively in today´s European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, maintaining the team´s fifth place in the World Championship for Constructors. Although the race weekend clearly got off to a rough start for both drivers, things were put right in the end. Fisichella had to start from 18th on the grid due to an engine change on Friday morning. He had hoped to repeat Nick Heidfeld's feat last year at this track of starting from the back and working up into the points. Heidfeld managed to climb to 8th place last year, but Fisichella did even better, bringing his C23 home in 6th place. His result can be attributed to a number of upgraded components on the car, and the two-stop pit strategy which the team has been using very successfully as of late.

Fisichella shares his joy. "After all the problems I had over the weekend it is wonderful to score points for sixth place! Our target was to score points, but I never believed that sixth was possible. The car was fantastic today, the balance and behaviour were impeccable. I made a good start, our strategy was perfect, and we did a great job as a team. The C23 is improving with every race, so we will keep getting better and better."

Felipe Massa was unhappy with his 16th place start, a result of several mistakes he made during qualifying combined with his heavy fuel load. A mechanical problem at the start left him trailing the field and later struggling to catch up. All things considered, he did well to finish in 9th place, but it was not enough to net the team more points.

"When I let out the clutch at the start nothing happened, and I had to call for it again before I could get going," Massa explained. "Running behind the Minardis after that ruined my race because I lost so much time. I´m not sure where I damaged my front wing – maybe when I was close to Bruni, maybe later with Klien – but after that I just had massive understeer and the car was really difficult to drive. A shame, because this was a race where I could have scored more points."

The strong finish today increases Sauber's lead over the ailing McLaren-Mercedes team, who saw both drivers retire with engine failure. Sauber now has ten points which is double the tally of their silver and black rivals. Sauber have consistently demonstrated that the C23 is a strong match for the other midfield runners, both in performance and reliability.

"Our race went exactly as we planned," said Technical Director, Willy Rampf. "Starting at the back we gave Giancarlo a high fuel load for a long first stint, and because the Bridgestone tyres were so consistent today we were able to execute our chosen strategy. Congratulations to Giancarlo, who drove a fast and consistent race to finish sixth on the lead lap, consolidating our fifth place in the constructors´ championship. Felipe´s race was hampered by a problem at the start, and then loss of downforce due to a damaged front wing, and his car was very difficult to drive."

The Sauber team will now head to Monza, Italy for an intensive four day test next week before flying to North America for another set of back-to-back races. Canada has always been a strong track for the team, and if the test goes well, they will have an upgraded car to help their efforts. They also had a fortunate result in the rain-soaked race in Indianapolis last year, which saw the drivers finish 3rd and 5th, even though the track is not normally a good one for them. An upgraded engine from Ferrari for these two races will also boost their efforts.

---