Tyre Problems Hinder Sauber Duo

Sauber drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa complained of problems with their tyres following Friday's practice for the San Marino Grand Prix.

Both men struggled on the opening laps with their new Bridgestone tyres, and Fisichella, who posted the 17th fastest time of the session, said his Sauber was very hard to drive before the tyres reached the optimal temperature.

"The car is very good in long runs, but it's still very difficult on the first lap out of the pits on new tyres," said Fisichella, who is still to score a point this year after the first three races.

"The balance isn't bad, though we still need to do some work on that, but both ends just lack grip until the tyres reach their operating temperature after a lap."

Brazilian Massa, 15th quickest, had the same problem as his teammate.

"My car is the same as Giancarlo's," he said. "On the long runs today it felt great and was consistent, but we need to work on exploiting new tyres better. The car is still very tricky to drive for the first lap on them."