Sat team by team: Part 2

Sauber has suffered in qualifying this year because its Bridgestone tyres do not have the out-and-out first lap pace of Michelin, and Monza was no exception. Despite some promising form in pre-qualifying, Giancarlo Fisichella slipped to 15th overall in the final session with Felipe Massa one further place back.

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA: "My lap was not good. Obviously we had a fair amount of fuel, but while the first sector was very good I was too conservative in the second and then braked too late for Parabolica and got into a lot of understeer. That costs me at least three-tenths."

FELIPE MASSA: "There was a big difference in the balance of my car between its pre-qualifying configuration and the qualifying set-up, and this caught me out a little under braking for the first part of the first chicane. I locked the rear wheels a little and ran in wide, so after that the lap was ruined."



Mark Webber and Christian Klien made the most of the machinery at their disposal to split the Toyotas on the grid. The team opted not to run its new lightweight R5B in the end, pending further tests, but Webber still qualified 12th and Klien 14th.

MARK WEBBER: "I was happy with the work that the team had done in preparing the car. The first chicane can be quite tricky though and you really need to have a perfect lap to get those extra tenths out of the car."

CHRISTIAN KLIEN: "The car felt good and I was generally pleased with how my final qualifying lap went. However I made a slight mistake at the Ascari Chicane and this probably cost me a couple of tenths."



Ricardo Zonta managed to qualify the TF104B just outside the top ten with the 11th fastest time after a fairly untroubled day, while Olivier Panis's difficult weekend continued. The gearbox on his car had to be changed before pre-qualifying and he could manage no better than 13th.

RICARDO ZONTA: "I am very pleased with my qualifying lap this afternoon. We have worked very hard in preparation for this race, both at the test session last week and in the free practice sessions."

OLIVIER PANIS: "I am still not totally happy with the car. Considering all the problems we have encountered, I think we should be content with 11th and 13th places on the grid, even if I personally expected us to be more competitive at this high-speed track."



Giorgio Pantano's mechanics worked hard before qualifying to repair his car following a high-speed accident at the first chicane in morning practice. A mistake at the Ascari Chicane cost him a few tenths as he wound up 18th, while Nick Heidfeld was forced to take the spare car for qualifying after suffering a gearbox problem in pre-qualifying. He ended up 17th fastest but will start from the back of the grid after having an engine change on Friday.

NICK HEIDFELD: "I was not able to do a quick lap in pre-qualifying as I had a gearbox problem and we were not able to rectify it before qualifying so we chose to jump in the spare car. In the circumstances, I was quite happy with the lap."

GIORGIO PANTANO: "I was expecting better from qualifying. I lost two or three tenths of a second when I went off slightly at the exit of Ascari - I think I was pushing a bit too much."



Zsolt Baumgartner was forced to use the spare car in qualifying after his race chassis was badly damaged in a collision with Giorgio Pantano in the morning free practice session. He recovered to qualify 19th, one place ahead of team-mate Gianmaria Bruni.

ZSOLT BAUMGARTNER: "The accident this morning was very unfortunate and I was lucky. In qualifying I locked the brakes up going into the first chicane and slid across the first part of it, losing time in the process."

GIANMARIA BRUNI: "My qualifying lap was good and the car felt fine considering the strategy we have adopted for tomorrow when it may well rain. I didn't make any obvious mistakes on my flying lap and the time was quite good - so I am very happy with the work we have done today."