Big Celebration Despite Big Shunt for Fisichella
By Jamie Makin
May 30 2004
The Monaco Grand Prix has a history of being either incredibly kind or incredibly cruel to team SAUBER PETRONAS. Today it was both.
Giancarlo Fisichella was an innocent victim of a bizarre accident early in the race, while Felipe Massa's 5th place finish boosted the team to 5th in the overall standings.
It was a strange day right from the beginning, when the initial race start had to be aborted when Olivier Panis stalled his Toyota. Things looked smooth when the race began on the second try, except for telltale signs of blue smoke coming from the back of Takuma Sato's BAR-Honda. The team opted to let him stay out, but paid the price when his engine grenaded on the just third lap. A number of cars were running closely together going through the blinding smoke, and Giancarlo Fisichella's Sauber rammed into the back of David Coulthard's McLaren. The Italian was hurled upside down into the armco barrier, but thankfully was unhurt and able to walk away.
"I´m very disappointed today. I made a good start and was just driving gently, saving the tyres, when Sato´s engine exploded," Giancarlo said afterwards. "I´d seen it smoking after the second start, but nobody expected it to break like that. I had no vision at all. Barrichello and Montoya were in front, then suddenly there was a McLaren. I´m not sure why it was there, but the next thing I heard was the bang and I was upside down. The car took all the impact and I stayed in the cockpit until it all went quiet outside, just in case the accident wasn´t finished. Then I got myself out. I´m okay, but very frustrated, because for sure we could have had P4 today."
Fisichella is referring to the fact that he qualified in 10th place carrying a very heavy load of fuel. Had it not been for the incident, the strategy would have put him very high up in the finishing order.
Despite this catastrophe, the team had another reason to celebrate. Felipe Massa worked his way up from a dismal 16th starting spot on the grid to finish 5th. He avoided all the carnage on the twisty streets of Monte Carlo and drove a consistent and mature race. The four championship points he collected boosted the Sauber team into 5th place in the Constructors Championship, well clear of the ailing McLaren Mercedes team.
Massa talks about his result. "All I saw in the accident was a lot of mess and cars slowing everywhere. I was right behind Ralf and slowed when he did, and we managed to thread our way through. I guess I was lucky, because you could hardly see a thing! After that I found that in my second stint my tyres were very good so I was able to concentrate on chasing a good finish."
He had to work hard for this position right up through the very last corner as the Toyota of Christiano DaMatta was challenging him hard for position. "In my last stint the tyres were okay initially but then the rears were finished as da Matta closed in, so I really had to focus on keeping the car in a straight line when it wanted to go sideways everywhere. I knew that da Matta was also in a good position for points so I didn´t think he would take a risk, but I was never able to relax. I´m really glad to have been able to help the team move up, especially after Giancarlo´s accident. It´s good to know that he is okay."
Peter Sauber expressed the highs and lows he felt watching his drivers on the track today. "An incredible race for us, but also a bitter-sweet one which brought us pain and joy. We are very happy that Giancarlo escaped such a spectacular accident without harm, and are very sorry for him. He did a great job in qualifying with the heaviest fuel load and started the race with a lot of confidence and high expectations. On the good side, we are extremely happy for Felipe, who drove an error-free race full of fighting spirit. Our four points today made up for the Giancarlo´s misfortune and move us into fifth place in the Constructors´ Championship."
The team will carry this upward momentum to the Nurburgring for the European Grand Prix. Practice for the race will begin in just five days, which will not give the team much time to celebrate today's result. There is a lot of work to be done to repair Fisichella's damaged race car, but the best news is that Fisichella himself will be okay to drive it.