Saturday March 2nd, 2002

Brazilian Felipe Massa was pleased with his performance in his first ever Formula One qualifying session after being able to put his Sauber in an impressive ninth position ahead of tomorrow's Australian Grand Prix.

"I wanted to qualify in the top 10 if possible, so I am very pleased to be ninth for my first Grand Prix," said the Brazilian, who made his official Grand Prix debut only on Friday. "I lost a little bit of time on my first run, and made a small mistake in Turn One on my second, but I'm happy with my time, and I'm grateful to the team for all the help they've given me this weekend.

"I was able to concentrate strongly and do a good performance, and I'm pleased that I haven't made any significant errors. It's a great way to start my F1 career."

21-year old Massa was not only the quickest rookie in qualifying, but was also capable of outqualifying his own teammate Nick Heidfeld, who finished right behind him in tenth place, completing a promising start for the Swiss squad.

"It's been a bit of a difficult day, stopping twice on the circuit this morning with a fuel pressure problem and then having the weather spoil qualifying," said Heidfeld. "My first run was good this afternoon, but we were unlucky that it was just starting to rain when I began my second. But that happens."

Published at 04:02:35 GMT