Disastrous day for Sauber

Sauber's performance was already compromised when Giancarlo Fisichella was given a 10-position penalty after his engine failed on Friday, so it elected not to put Fisichella forward for Saturday's qualifying session. Its misery was compounded when Felipe Massa made a hash of his qualifying lap.

Sauber's technical director, Willy Rampf, said: "It made good sense to us to conserve Giancarlo's car by not participating in the official qualifying session, as this will keep his tyres in premium condition for the race. Felipe's result was not what we expected, and both starting positions are disappointing."

"It was a tactical decision to conserve the tyres and not take part in the qualifying session, given that I have to move back 10 places on the grid because of my problem on Friday morning," said Fisichella. "The car is still improving from race to race, and though it won't be an easy race at least you can overtake here and I know we can be competitive."

Massa admitted: "I made a mistake in Turn 7 which cost me at least a couple of positions. This morning it was difficult to find a good set-up but we improved the car for qualifying so I know that I will have a good car for the race."