Bahrain: Massa Slips to 12th in Final Qualifying


By Jamie Makin
April 3 2005

The SAUBER PETRONAS team was not overjoyed after the final round of qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix saw Felipe Massa slip from 10th to 12th position. Jacques Villeneuve drove a solid lap but was unable to improve on his 16th place. "At least I didn’t go off like yesterday," mused Villeneuve, "even though the car is more difficult to drive when there’s more fuel in the tank, so that’s a big improvement. Now I just want to concentrate on the race."

Massa took things in stride and is more hopeful for the race. "That was pretty much what I expected from second qualifying," Massa said. "It was always going to be asking a lot to stay in the top 10 with the strategy we have chosen, and I made a bit of a mistake at the end of the second sector although I don’t think that actually made much difference overall. I’m still very optimistic for the race, and I think with the plan we have I can really fight hard this afternoon."

Sunday, Qualifying 2 (Aggregate Times):

s
Driver Chassis Best Time Position
J. Villeneuve C24-03 3:07.983 (+6.081) 16
F. Massa C24-02 3:05.202 (+3.300) 12
Spare CarC24-01 - -

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