(Sauber F1 Team)
The Sauber F1 Team head to the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin Texas this weekend in search of their first world championship points of the 2014 Formula One season following what has been so far an extremely difficult year for the team.
Last time out at the inaugural Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi circuit Esteban Gutierrez and Adrian Sutil finished the race in fifteenth and sixteenth place respectively one lap down on race winner Mercedes Lewis Hamilton. Speaking ahead of what is in effect a home race for him Mexican Esteban Gutierrez stated:
'I am looking forward to the United States Grand Prix; it is a great feeling coming to Austin. For me it is a special Grand Prix, because we will have a lot of support from Mexico, as it is currently the race which is closest to my home country. I am looking forward to having great support from our fans there, which gives me extra motivation.
The race weekend is always busy, and it requires a lot of energy. The track in Austin is one of my favourites, I love driving there. I like the first sector with a sequence of fast corners, which is similar to a part of the track in Silverstone. As we are still facing a lack of straight line speed, the second part of the track could be a challenge, as it has a long straight. In the last sector there are some technical, slow-speed corners. All in all, it will be crucial to have a good set-up as well as efficient aerodynamics.'
This weekend in Austin the Swiss based outfit will be under pressure in qualifying due to the fact that both the Marussia and Caterham F1 Team's will miss the race due to the fat that both outfits have gone into administration so they will working flat out to ensure that they make it out of Q1 which will be altered because due to only 17 cars taking part in the session.
Adrian Sutil will be hoping for an improved performance in Austin this weekend following a difficult race in Sochi. Speaking ahead of the event in Austin the German stated:
'The United States Grand Prix is a great event in a country in which motorsport is hugely important. I have only been to Austin once. It is a very interesting track that offers a bit of everything. After the first slow corner, the track has a sequence of left-right combinations which remind me of the “Esses“ in Suzuka.
It is a lot of fun driving there. Obviously, a high amount of downforce, as well as engine power, is needed to be fast there. During the race there are many fans, and the city of Austin is also very nice. Some of my friends from the US will come for a visit. For me it is a great event, and I am looking forward to it. We will certainly do our best to get the maximum out of our package.'
The Sauber F1 Team have yet to score a point this season however with the Marussia F1 Team absent from the United States Grand Prix if the Swiss based outfit can score points this weekend they could potentially overtake the Banbury based outfit in the Constructors championship.
The team will not be bringing updates to the United States and speaking ahead of the race Sauber's head of track engineering Giampaolo Dall'Ara stated:
'After two race-free weekends the team is off to Austin with some extra energy, ready for the closing stages of the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship. At this point in the season the cars aren’t being upgraded any longer, therefore it is important to keep concentrated and build upon what we’ve been gathering to date.
The track offers some interesting features for the engineers’ work, from the winding sector one to the straight in sector two, followed by sector three, which requires good traction and a lot of grip. The tarmac isn’t very abrasive, and, despite Pirelli moving away from the harder options by offering medium and soft compounds, we don’t expect this to result in a massive amount of pit stops.'
© Ben Johnston 2014
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