Swiss Formula One team takes fourth place in Australia
The Swiss racing team, Sauber, took fourth place overall at the season-opening Grand Prix race in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday. Sauber drivers ended up in fourth and sixth spots.
Sauber driver, Nick Heidfeld, came in fourth on Sunday, giving his team two points. The German driver had a hard fight with his compatriot, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who was racing for Jordan, at the end of the race but held on to take his first world championship points.
Heidfeld originally came in lower in the standings but was moved up, four hours after the end of the race, when French driver Olivier Panis was penalised for overtaking illegally under a yellow flag.
Sauber’s other driver, the Finn Kimi Raikkonen, completed his 24th single seater car race in impressive form and scored a point on his Formula One debut after Panis was relegated. Raikkonen came in at number six.
Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello came in first and third, while McLaren’s David Coulthard came in second.
However, the death of a race marshal during Sunday’s race cast a tragic shadow over the podium. The marshal died after a crash early in the race involving Schumacher’s younger brother Ralf and the Canadian driver, Jacques Villeneuve.
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