By Jamie Makin
July 28 2004

Team SAUBER PETRONAS drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa finished 9th and 13th respectively in today´s German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. It was a day of disappointment for the team as they had their hopes high after finding a good setup and strategy for both cars yesterday. The problem seemed to be down to their Bridgestone tyres. The team has come to expect to struggle on them in qualifying, but to have an advantage over Michelin in the race. Today's blistering heat at the Hockenheimring leveled the playing field between SAUBER and their rivals.

Giancarlo Fisichella shares his frustrations. "Usually we have a tyre advantage in race conditions with Bridgestone, but unfortunately today the performance with Michelin was very equal. I got blocked quite a lot at the start so was not able to make the progress I needed to with our two-stop strategy, and then in my second stop we weren't able to change the left rear tyre. The wheel was stuck on, so I had to go back into the race with the same left rear. I also lost time coming into the pits for that stop, because Nick Heidfeld was going very slowly as he also came into the pit road."

His young teammate Felipe Massa encountered similar troubles, particularly during his second stint. "I made a reasonable start but got held up a little when Button ran wide and came back on in front of me. My first and third sets of tyres were okay, but the second was horrible. I really have no idea why, but they made the car very difficult to drive and blistered very badly. It was very easy to make mistakes at that time. The car was unstable, especially under braking, and I was having a real struggle."

Team owner Peter Sauber had sounded highly optimistic of his team's chances all weekend, but left the race sounding down himself. "We came to Hockenheim feeling quite confident after our excellent result at Silverstone, so what we were able to show today was weak and hugely disappointing. We have some time now before the next race, in Hungary, to analyse the less positive aspects of our race today."

Despite Sauber's denial that they are in talks with Michelin as a tyre supplier for 2005, this weekend's disappointment will surely add fuel to the fire of that rumour.

The team will relish the three-week break before the next grand prix in Hungary in mid-August. The test ban also begins and will give the team time to concentrate on their design work at the factory and the wind tunnel. They are also negotiating with Mercedes-Benz to allow DTM star Gary Paffett steer a third Sauber at the Hungaroring, which would mark the first time the team has used this option on Fridays.

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