Sauber suffereing miserable homecoming

BMW-Sauber suffered a homecoming to forget when two accidents from Jacques Villeneuve put paid to their German Grand Prix hopes at Hockenheim.

The German-owned team suffered a frustrating qualifying session yesterday and any hopes of an improvement in today’s race were dashed on the first lap.

Former world champion Villeneuve hit the back of team-mate Nick Heidfeld’s car, causing him damage which would ultimately end his race nine laps later.

The German said: “I suddenly felt a hit on the right rear. I had to pit with a puncture and changed all tyres.

“But the brakes were also damaged and the pedal became longer and longer, so it was too dangerous to continue. Later I found out Jacques and myself had touched, which was unfortunate.”

That incident damaged Villeneuve’s front wing and despite new bodywork being fitted, his car developed handling problems and the Canadian crashed out on lap 31.

After slamming into the barriers at the final corner, he said: “I just pushed a little too hard and I got caught out there.”

Team boss Mario Theissen called for his squad to bounce back quickly in next weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix after losing more ground on the top five in the constructors’ championship.

“For our team the race was practically over on the first lap,” he said. “This marked the end of a totally disappointing weekend. In Budapest we have to try to make up lost ground.”