Sauber duo targets final points

Italy's Fisichella won last year's race under bizarre circumstances, but had to wait five days for it to be confirmed. McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen had been declared the winner on the day, despite initial delight from the Jordan garage. Fisichella was denied the chance to step onto the top step of the podium for the first time in his F1 career and had to settle for a presentation from Raikkonen at the next race in Imola.

While Fisichella is not expecting a repeat of last year's event, the Italian is confident the C23 will perform well at the Brazilian track.

"Last year gave me one of the most satisfying moments of my life, when I won the race," he said. "I have a very good feeling with the track. It's one of the best, and also one of the most difficult. There are all sorts of corners there, and on the first day it is always quite slippery because there isn't much rubber there. You need to be consistent, otherwise it's easy to make mistakes.

"In the past I did very well there. Once third, once second. Last year first! So I really like Brazil, and Sao Paulo, and I like the character of the people. They are very enthusiastic. I am looking forward to the race, and to do my best. I think the C23 will be competitive there as well."

Team-mate Massa admits he feels the pressure when he races at his home event, and has suffered on the track in the past, but this time he feels he has enough experience under his belt to do his home fans proud.

"I feel lots of pressure racing in Brazil, but it's also a fantastic feeling to be at home," he said. "Running in front of my fellow countrymen is the best feeling I've ever had in racing. There is nothing else like it! When I finally raced there for Sauber in 2002 it was only my third Grand Prix, so it was tough for me. I knew Interlagos well because I raced there four times in Formula Opel, but it was still difficult to cope with the pressure then and with learning all about Formula 1. I did a bad race and collided with Mark Webber.

"Now, with the race being at the end of the season instead of the beginning, I have a lot more experience and for sure that will help. The C23 is getting better and better and I really think that we can do well there. Scoring points would be nice, while a podium for me would be fantastic!"