Heidfeld Delighted with Top Ten Position

German Nick Heidfeld was delighted with his qualifying performance after posting the tenth quickest time of the session ahead of tomorrow's French Grand Prix.

The Sauber driver, who yesterday struggled with the handling of his Petronas-powered C21 chassis, was much happier with his car today, and though Heidfeld was one of the many drivers who fell victim of the traffic at the Magny-Cours circuit, he was pleased to qualify in the top ten.

"The car was much better than yesterday," said Heidfeld. "I was a lot happier with the balance and stability. For each run this afternoon we made small changes, and progress. Unfortunately I had some traffic on my second run, but the last one was pretty good.

"I am very happy to be in the top ten and to be the third fastest Bridgestone user."

Teammate Felipe Massa completed a promising day for the Swiss squad by posting the 12th quickest time in his first visit to the French circuit. The Brazilian, using the harder Bridgestone tyres, is confident of doing better in tomorrow's race.

"I think things were pretty good for me," said Massa. "The track was a lot hotter this afternoon, and we worked to improve the car with each run. I'm pleased that I was able to improve each time out as a result, and that the car was so consistent all through the session.

"We knew we might suffer a little on the harder tyres today, but I know that we have a good package for the race tomorrow so I think we'll be strong."