Canada Preview Quotes: Sauber

Giancarlo Fisichella: "It was fantastic to score three points at the Nrburgring. Our target was to score points there, but I never believed I would finish sixth! The car is getting better from race to race and Montreal is another good circuit for me. I have been on the podium there four times, so I have decent memories of Canada. I have a sound feeling at the circuit, which I believe will be a good one for us. For me it's a nice track, satisfying to drive on. It has relatively poor grip so it can be difficult everywhere. The hairpin and the last corner are very tricky, and you need to be very clean in both to preserve your top speed for the following straights.

"As for the city of Montreal, it's fantastic. It's a great place to do some shopping."

Felipe Massa: "Montreal is similar to Imola: you accelerate, you brake, you go through a chicane. It is therefore quite a challenging circuit because it can be difficult to get a good rhythm there. You need to be very precise so that you do not waste any momentum, and that's where the challenge lies. What I also like about it is that you can overtake there. You need good top speed to help you do this on the straights, but there is also a great chance under braking for the hairpin if you get everything right.

"Montreal itself has a wonderful atmosphere, and it's great to have the race there. The city really gets involved in promoting the entire event, which makes it special."

Willy Rampf, Technical Director: "Montreal is a medium downforce track, as the top speed is in excess of 330 kph. It's therefore something of a power circuit. It follows too that it requires very high brake performance and stability. For the brakes it is the most demanding track of the season, because they are loaded frequently and have little chance to cool down. You need to maximise brake cooling efficiency in particular. For this reason we tested our latest cooling specification at Monza last week in preparation. We will also use the hardest brake pad and disc specification.

"The track surface in Montreal is quite benign, so we can get away with softer tyre compounds. Overtaking is possible here, usually going into the hairpin or on the exit if another car does not make a clean job of the corner. This is another factor to take into account when deciding your strategy."