22/05/2005
NEWS STORY
Sauber drivers Felipe Massa and Jacques Villeneuve finished ninth and 11th respectively in today's Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo.
Jacques Villeneuve: "Our strategy today was very good, and to begin with my plan was to save the tyres as I had plenty of fuel on board. But then I got really messed up with the incident at Mirabeau on lap 25. Felipe was able to get through a gap and make his pit stop, but I got badly held up and there was no point in refuelling then because I was on a long run strategy, so really I got nothing out of the situation.
"Towards the end I caught up with Felipe again and I could see that his rear tyres were finished, whereas my car felt pretty much as good as it had been all through the race. I was told to reduce the gap to the guys in front of me because a lot of us were closing up in the fight for points, and I tried something that unfortunately didn't work."
Felipe Massa: "I made a very good start and in the incident at Mirabeau between Coulthard and Schumacher I was just able to find a way through a small gap. The team called me in to refuel as the Safety Car came out and that was a brilliant plan. After that I was running strongly behind Heidfeld and was able to make a second stop later on, on lap 50, without losing much time. Unfortunately my tyres were losing grip and Montoya passed me, and then there was the incident with Jacques at Ste Devote. I think it was wrong from his side, but now I am just focusing on the next race."
Peter Sauber (Team Principal): "We had a perfect strategy for the race today and some very good work by the pit crew brought us up to a very strong position after the first incident that brought out the Safety Car. However, the incident caused by Jacques cost us five valuable championship points that would have enabled us to close the gap on our direct competitor, Red Bull. What happened today is the most depressing thing that a team can experience."