Heidfeld Encouraged after Strong Start

German Nick Heidfeld was very satisfied with his performance in opening qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.

"With my 10th place we can be very satisfied," said Heidfeld, who is racing for the Sauber team for the last time, his contract expiring after the Suzuka race. "It gives us a good starting point in our defence of fifth place in the Constructors' World Championship.

"This morning we did some long-runs which didn't leave a lot of time for set-up work, but we made some changes for qualifying which worked out reasonably well, though I still had some high-speed oversteer."

Sauber are fighting for fifth place in the Constructors' Championship, and they are currently one point ahead of the BAR team. It was a promising day for the Swiss squad, with German Heinz-Harald Frentzen posting the 12th fastest time of the day.

"I had great fun today, although the car was tail happy," admitted Frentzen. "I like this track and I always enjoy driving here, but we still have some work to do on the set-up for tomorrow."