Tuesday 26 January at 08:01 : Jan.26 (GMM) Peter Sauber has admitted that Giancarlo Fisichella was a contender to be Kamui Kobayashi's teammate at his Swiss team in 2010.

Sauber, 66, ultimately signed long time McLaren tester and Zurich resident Pedro de la Rosa, after speculation that powertrain supplier Ferrari had pushed hard for its reserve driver Fisichella to be appointed.

"We were not a B-team, but there would have been a certain dependency," he said in an interview with Tuesday's Motorsport Aktuell.

"If something went wrong with one of the race drivers, Fisichella would have been sitting in the Ferrari. That would have been very bad for us," Sauber explained.

Sauber also admitted that Nick Heidfeld had been another contender for the second seat.

"He was with us for seven years," he said, referring to the 32-year-old German who looks increasingly likely to have to sit out the 2010 season.

"I wanted to make a new start, and that would not have worked out with Nick," Sauber added.