24/07/2005
NEWS STORY
Sauber drivers Felipe Massa and Jacques Villeneuve finished eighth and 15th respectively in today's German Grand Prix in Hockenheim.
Jacques Villeneuve: "I seemed to get hit by everybody today! On the first lap Rubens came into the side of me at the hairpin; I think maybe somebody pushed him. Then I had the thing with Doornbos on lap four. He was being very over-aggressive in his first race, and he moved over on me while he was braking so we touched. That was Formula Ford stuff, unnecessary. As for Monteiro on lap 27, I really don't think that he saw me.
"The funny thing is that the car was still good after all that contact, but eventually it developed a serious vibration. We changed the front tyres but that didn't fix it, and it began to get worse and worse, so I had to ease off a little. There was no point in risking everything by then."
Felipe Massa: "I think I made a pretty good start, huh? I just saw a space and braked a lot later than anyone else into Turn One, and then let the car run wide and passed maybe four cars coming out. In Turn Two I again braked late and passed another, so it was very, very good! The pace after that was reasonable and consistent, and the balance of the car was good. Overall I think that was one of my best races to date, and scoring a point after starting so far back really keeps me motivated to keep on fighting. I'm very happy!"
Peter Sauber (Team Principal): "Considering where we started on the grid, a point for eighth place was the best we had any right to hope for. After making a fantastic start Felipe got to the position he would have liked to start from, and was always in a position then to fight for a point. He drove a strong and flawless race, passed Heidfeld in the pits and was able to keep Barrichello behind, and really deserved his result. Jacques seemed to be everybody's target today and ran from one problem to the next. For sure a painful race for him, and one he will want to forget."