Sauber: We were Expecting Better

The Sauber team are confident of a good race on Sunday despite performing below their expectations in today's qualifying for the European Grand Prix.

German Nick Heidfeld had shone during Saturday's free practice session, finishing in a promising fifth place, but the Sauber driver failed to repeat his performance during the hour-long qualifying session, dropping down to ninth position.

Team boss Peter Sauber admitted they were expecting to be higher up the grid, but the Swiss claimed that they were handicapped by their Bridgestone tyres.

"After the performance in free practice this morning we all expected a little better than ninth and 11th places in qualifying, but when you look at the times it's clear that tyres played a significant part this afternoon," said Sauber.

"We did a lot of race preparation on Friday, however, and I hope that we can profit from that investment in the race."

Heidfeld outpaced teammate Felipe Massa, who set the 11th quickest time. The German driver, however, claimed his car was not as good as it has been during the practice sessions.

"I braked too hard and flat-spotted the right front tyre on my first run, and that created vibrations that never went away," explained Heidfeld. "Maybe it did some small damage, I don't know. After that the car never felt as good as it did this morning, but we made a small change for the final run and that was my best.

"I just pushed flat out, it was the maximum I could achieve. Ninth is still a good place to start, and I'm confident for the race."