Jean Alesi
I began today full of hope. I didn't make a great start and lost two places, but the car was running well and I could stay with Trulli even if passing him on the track was going to be very difficult. But then we got very close and I had to downshift rapidily; just after thst something went wrong, perhaps with the transmission, and sadly I had to stop.

Pedro Diniz
My car was running well and the times were competitive. I had no trouble staying with Barrichello and keeping ahead of Hill, and should have been there at the end fighting for sicth place. But unfortunately there was a transmission problem when I tried to rejoin after my pit stop on lap 40.

Peter Sauber
This is a disappointing result after our fantastic success in qualifying. But looking on the positive side, both Jean and Pedro showed while they were running that here in Barcelona we were as competitive as any of the teams fighting for position behing McLaren and Ferrari.

Qualifying
Jean Alesi
I feel fantastic! This morning the car was the best it has been all season, but this is one of those circuits where it's really easy to go in the wrong direction. We knew the car felt balanced on a knife-edge then, and that even a small change the wrong way could destroy its efficiency, so instead of innovating like some others we just made tiny steps for qualifying and tuned it by millimetres, and it paid off. For sure the car is better with the new undertray and suspension, and it was fabulous to be fastest for so long. I knew that could not last, but to be fifth on the grid is a dream.

Pedro Diniz
My car was better this morning than this afternoon, where the track temperature was lower. We got a little bit caught out as it rose, and after I had oversteer at the beginning of qualifying we went a little too much the other way. But the car is better at this race, and I'll be looking for points tomorrow.

Peter Sauber
Congratulations to Jean for his impressive performance, and thanks also to the mechanics and engineers for this team effort. Last but not least, my compliments to the engine specialists who prepare the Sauber Petronas V10. Pedro's time also proves that Jean's was not a fluke due to a lower track temperature at the beginning of the session.

Friday free practice
Jean Alesi
This has been one of those days. This morning I ran over the camera that is mounted in the kerb in Turn 6 on my third lap, and damaged the new undertray. The car jumped quite high when I hit it. I was due to run with an earlier undertray this afternoon, but my car developed an hydraulic problem at the beginning of the session and I couldn't get out until the very end. I managed to trim a couple of tenths off my time, and I'm sure we would have been better placed without the problems.

Pedro Diniz
The car is better with the suspension and aerodynamic changes that we have introduced, there's more grip. But we had to try a different set-up this morning to the one we developed in testing here last week, because the track conditions were quite different. I was pleased with things this morning, but unfortunately I lost the session this afternoon when the fuel pressure dropped and the car stopped on the circuit.

Peter Sauber
Technical problems prevented us running very much this afternoon, but because we were able to test here a lot last week the damage is not as severe as it might have been.