Formula One news

Saubers strong at Interlagos

Sauber Petronas drivers Felipe Massa and Jacques Villeneuve finished fourth and seventh respectively after today's first practice sessions for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

"I think I know in my own mind about tyre choice, but we still need to discuss it fully," said Villeneuve. "The car seems to be acceptably fast in a straight line, but I was struggling in the corners. I think we'll be lucky to be this fast relative to everyone else tomorrow."

Felipe Massa commented, "I lost some valuable track time with a gearbox downshift problem this morning, but we went out straight away this afternoon and I was happy with the car. The balance was good and it was strong in the infield section. The track surface was very dirty today and it would have been easy to make mistakes, so I'm quite happy with the lap that I did and we'll see what happens tomorrow. I'm feeling pretty confident."

Team chief Peter Sauber concluded, "This is certainly not an easy track on which to find a suitable set-up because of the compromises it demands. We tested both qualifying and race set-ups, with different fuel levels. Most of all it will not be easy to make the tyre choice."

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