Fisichella Encouraged by Sauber's Race Pace

Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella was encouraged by his Sauber's race pace during today's San Marino Grand Prix.

"We had very good race pace today, and sometimes I was quicker than Kimi [Raikkonen], especially at the end," said Fisichella after the race, in which he finished in ninth position after starting from the back of the grid due to a gearbox problem in qualifying.

"It's a pity I lost the place to him. I got held up by one of the Minardis in the final corner at a point when Kimi had fresher tyres, and with the better traction out of the corner he got a run at me and overtook on the straight.

"But I am happy with our speed compared to his and very satisfied that we have made such a big improvement since Bahrain. If we can keep that up we can fight for points a lot more."

Brazilian teammate Felipe Massa was also happy with his team's pace in the race despite failing to score any points. Massa wound up 10th.

"I think this was a positive race for us," said Massa. "I made a good start and the car was very good in the first two stints. I don't know why, but it was not quite the same in the final one. It was just very tricky to do competitive lap times and I struggled to keep my rhythm.

"But we have improved the car, for sure, and really I think it might even have been possible to do two stops rather than three because my Bridgestone tyres were so consistent today."