Sauber: We Expected More

"After our good result yesterday we expected better today, to be honest," said Sauber at the end of first qualifying. "Now we must concentrate on our race preparation, and choosing the right strategy for what we all know will be a very tough race."

Felipe Massa posted the quickest time on yesterday's second practice session, but the young Brazilian could only be 13th fastest today over 1.5 seconds off the pace set by Renault's Fernando Alonso.

Massa admitted his car was not just quick enough.

"I wouldn't say mine was a perfect lap, but at the maximum I only lost two-tenths of a second in Turns 7 and 8," said Massa. "The balance was fine, but we just weren't fast enough. But our car is more consistent in the race, so I am optimistic for Sunday afternoon."

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, in the spotlight following his disappointing performance at the Australian Grand Prix, was unable to match his teammate's pace, finishing in 16th place nearly eight tenths of a second off Massa's time.

"The car was a lot better this afternoon, but we had plenty of problems in practice this morning and that wasn't the best way to prepare for first qualifying," said the Canadian. "It would have been nice to get a better run beforehand, but the tyres were working pretty well this afternoon and that helped the performance of the car."