Saturday March 25th, 2000

Sauber team boss Peter Sauber has pulled his drivers Pedro Diniz and Mika Salo out of Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix for safety reasons.

The two struggled into 20th and 22nd places on the grid after Saturday's qualifying session but Sauber said they would not drive in the race.

Finn Salo crashed in free practice on Saturday morning after the rear wing of his car came loose, and Sauber decided to withdraw both cars as the team's mechanics failed to fix the problem.

"While we are at the track it is not possible for us to analyse the cause of the problem to our satisfaction," team boss Sauber said. "We have no option but to withdraw from the Brazilian Grand Prix."

The safety of the track itself was questioned as qualifying was stopped three times when advertising signs fell on the circuit, one of which hit Jean Alesi's Prost.