Nick Heidfeld said he was thankful that Takuma Sato was unharmed after their massive collision during the Austrian Grand Prix today.

The German driver ploughed into the Japanese on lap 28 after locking his brakes at the Remus kurve. Heidfeld was shaken but not injured, while Sato was treated by medical staff before being released later without any major injuries.

‘I made a great start to beat both BMW Williams and held third place for the first lap,’ Heidfeld explained. ‘After they overtook I was comfortable in fifth place and everything was going well. But after the first safety car incident Coulthard and I were side-by-side going down to the hairpin. I saw a cloud of tyre smoke as Yoong braked really hard and early ahead of us, and maybe I pressed the pedal too hard as a result while the brakes were still cool.

‘The car got away from me and next thing I knew I was going backwards down the grass. I'm just thankful that Takuma is okay.’

There was uncertainty over Sato’s condition for some time but on-track medical staff and FIA medical supremo Syd Watkins announced before the race’s conclusion that the 24-year-old would be okay.

Heidfeld’s team-mate Felipe Massa could not continue the momentum he started earlier in the weekend, the Brazilian suffering a suspension failure on lap seven.

‘Raikkonen forced me wide in the first corner and I lost three places, but I was attacking when I felt something go wrong with the left rear suspension in Turn 3 on the seventh lap,’ he explained. ‘My right front wheel was coming off the ground and I could feel the undertray scraping the track, so I came in to retire.’

With Renault not scoring today Sauber remains tied with the Paris marque for fourth in the Championship.