SALO DISQUALIFIED FROM AUSTRALIAN GP.

Mika Salos joy as scoring a point on his Sauber debut was cut short when the team was later disqualified for running an illegal front wing.

Race stewards declared that the offending bodywork was 20mm too long at its back edge, and excluded Salo from a hard-earned sixth position. The Finn had fought his way back into the points after dropping down the order mid-race, and could have finished on the podium, he said afterwards.
The car felt fantastic today, Salo continued, Its such a shame that I got stuck behind Villeneuve early on, because I was much quicker. It was the same later with Zonta, but I managed to pull a good move on him. With a bit better fortune, I could we could have been third today but, in any case, its all academic because of our problem with the wing.

We were happy to score a point, although today we know that the car and driver deserved much more, agreed team boss Peter Sauber, Mika lost a lot of time trapped behind Villeneuve in the early going and again behind Villeneuve and Fisichella at the end. Naturally, we are disappointed to be disqualified, but we can take heart from the encouraging potential of the car.

Salos exclusion lifts the second BAR of Ricardo Zonta into sixth place.