Thursday August 26th, 1999

Sauber Petronas announced today that it has signed Mika Salo until the end of 2001. The 32 year-old Finn will be teammate to Pedro Diniz.

Team principal Peter Sauber said: "Mika Salo has on a number of occasions proven his potential against highly rated team colleagues. Furthermore, he is able to cope with the high pressure of expectations. He is a team player and his comments for further development of the car are well appreciated by test engineers. These are both factors of utmost importance. "I am convinced that with Pedro Diniz and Mika Salo we have two drivers well able to push our team forward."

Salo said: "I am very happy to work with Red Bull Sauber Petronas for the next two years. By any standards 1999 has been a unique year for me and I have learned a lot. It is my aim to put this experience to good use in helping Red Bull Sauber Petronas to reach its full potential in the new millennium."