Sauber Disappointed with 'Modest' Result

The Sauber team were disappointed following today's final qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit.

"We prepared ourselves for Monza with great intensity, worked hard and invested a lot," said team principal Peter Sauber at the end of the session. "Taking all this into account it is disappointing that this afternoon's results are rather modest."

Heinz-Harald Frentzen was the fastest of the Sauber drivers, but the veteran German had to settle for a poor 14th position after having qualified in the top ten on Friday. Frentzen was unhappy with his tyres and claimed he couldn't brake as heavily as he wanted during his flying lap.

Teammate Nick Heidfeld completed a disappointing day for the Swiss squad by setting the 16th quickest time.

"Already in the practice sessions this morning I was struggling with poor balance on the car and in addition to this mine had less top speed compared to Heinz-Harald's," said Heidfeld. "Then during the pre-qualifying warm-up I experienced difficulties bringing the brakes up to optimum temperature so I opted to be a little cautious under braking during my qualifying lap.

"It then transpired that they worked fine and that I could have been more aggressive, which was frustrating."