Sauber's Progress Hampered by Monza Accident

Sauber's Nick Heidfeld emerged unhurt from an accident at the Monza circuit today, but his car was badly damaged and many new parts tested today were lost, the team said.

"Our test today was clouded by Nick's crash in lap 12 as a result of poor braking stability," said Jacky Eeckelaert, Sauber's head of vehicle engineering. "The reason for this must still be analysed.

"Fortunately Nick didn't get injured, but due to his accident we lost nearly all of our newly developed aerodynamic parts and the new car floor was destroyed, too. We repaired the car and were able to continue our test in the afternoon.

"However, because we didn't have sufficient new parts on site we could not use the same configuration as before. We carried on with old components and worked on the Monza downforce level and decided upon the tyres to be used for the next race."

Sauber are currently eighth in the Constructors' Championship and have been optimistic earlier this week that they have made major progress with new aerodynamic solutions as well as a new engine spec.