Team Sauber Petronas had a brilliant afternoon in Belgium today when their drivers Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella achieved the team's best result of the season by finishing fourth and fifth respectively. Massa, who didn’t have a good start to the event, forced to pit twice in two laps, was thrilled with the result and dedicated his strong finish to his maternal grandmother who sadly passed away yesterday.
"After two laps I was feeling so disappointed! I locked up at La Source at the start and didn't see Kimi on the outside until we touched, then Sato really hit the back of my car. I pitted for a new rear wing, but stopped again a lap later because the steering was vibrating really badly. After that the car was still shaking but I was able to attack,” he explained. ‘You might say I was lucky in the circumstances, but I believe that today I was recompensed for all the bad luck I have had in the last five races. The team did a fantastic job for me. Perhaps I could have had my first podium here today, but I prefer to see fourth as my best ever result. What made it more special was to have my family here this weekend, and I want to dedicate this result to my maternal grandfather Fernando Coelho dos Santos, who died yesterday."
One place behind was Giancarlo Fisichella , the Italian driver completing most of the race without barge boards on his C23, and with all the problems encountered over the course of the 44 lap race, he was thrilled with the result.
"At the start somebody ran into the back of my car at La Source, and I lost some downforce because of damage to the rear wing and diffuser as a result,” he said. “I was able to fight for points, but it was difficult and on lap 20 I momentarily went off the road in Turn 12 and lost a little more downforce by damaging a front wing endplate. It was also tough on the restarts keeping sufficient temperature in the tyres, so I really had my hands full with Klien. But to see our cars finish fourth and fifth was great. We deserved this."
"A fantastic race, very exciting for everyone,” added Peter Sauber. “Our result shows what you can do with determination, a strong heart and a refusal to give in no matter what the odds. Felipe drove a beautiful race to recover from his early delays and thoroughly deserved to shake off his bad luck, while Giancarlo coped very well with a lot of handling problems resulting from the first corner damage and defended well in the closing stages. My thanks to both drivers, and to everyone for their team spirit and a strong and reliable car."
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