06/05/2005
NEWS STORY
Sauber drivers Felipe Massa and Jacques Villeneuve finished 12th and 14th respectively after today's first practice sessions for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Jacques Villeneuve: "I'm pretty happy today. I was worried initially because we didn't have a very good test here recently, but it turned out not so bad. The balance wasn't great this morning but it was better this afternoon. It's not yet as good as Imola, but Felipe and I were working on different programmes so I'm sure that will improve tomorrow. The new surface here is very strange. It doesn't feel like any other asphalt that we race on. It's more like when you go indoor karting on concrete, so it gives you a weird feeling in the car. But it's the same for everyone."
Felipe Massa: "I was very unhappy with the set-up of the car this morning. The balance was bad and it felt really nervous in the high-speed corners. We made a few changes for this afternoon and the car was transformed. It was quick right away, consistent and nice to drive again. I think we have a reasonable set-up now, so it was not a bad day after all. I'm feeling quietly optimistic."
Peter Sauber (Team Principal): "I think Spain is a great country and Barcelona is a very nice city, and it looks as if the track was reciprocating those feelings as the day progressed. We worked on different set-ups and tyre programmes and I feel that this afternoon we were able to reach a good set-up baseline for tomorrow."