Massa Delighted after Leading Home GP

Brazilian Felipe Massa made a dream come true on Sunday after leading his home Grand Prix at the Interlagos circuit.

The Sauber driver, who had started the race from fourth position, took the lead of the race in the early stages of the event and went on to finish in eighth place, scoring a point for the Swiss squad.

"It was a fantastic feeling, leading the race," said Massa. "I will never forget that lap. Early on it was very slippery but the car was really fast. I lost some ground when Rubens was a bit cautious, but I could catch people really quickly.

"After we changed tyres and the track dried it was very hard to find grip until the end of each stint, but I settled into a confident pace and I am satisfied after achieving my goal of scoring a point. Leading a race in front of my home crowd was the icing on the cake."

Massa's teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, in his final race for Sauber before moving to the Renault team next season, finished in ninth place after spinning off the track early on.

"Early on I was running very close to another car and got caught out and had to go on to the grass when it braked earlier than I expected," said Fisichella. "I lost time there, and after that we were unlucky with the weather.

"My strategy was good but the changeable conditions spoiled it, so for me it was a frustrating final race for Sauber. That's racing, so most of all I would like to say thank you to everyone in the team for such a great season."