Spare Car Gamble Pays Off for Frentzen

German Heinz-Harald Frentzen was happy to survive the Brazilian Grand Prix chaos to finish in the points for the second time this season.

The Sauber driver, who had already finished fifth at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, benefited from his decision to switch to the spare car just before of the start of a wet race.

The Petronas-powered car was set up for wet weather, and Frentzen took full advantage of it to finish in fifth place.

"Just before the start we changed our strategy and decided to use the T-car because it was set up fully for wet conditions," said Frentzen. "At the end of the day it turned out to be the right decision.

"It was not easy to run with a full tank and I had a lot of aquaplaning which made me spin once. But we finished fifth and scored four points, so I am very happy about this result."

Teammate Nick Heidfeld was unable to finish the race, retiring on lap four with an engine problem.

"I made a good start and was able to overtake Jenson Button, but then the engineers radioed me that we had an oil problem and because of this the engine cut out," he said. "I pulled off the racing line just to make sure I didn't put any oil down."