Sunday, 12 April 2015

Sauber F1 Team shine in the land of the rising sun

(Sauber F1 Team)

The Sauber F1 Team were delighted with their days work at the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday as both Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson finished the race in the points.

The double points finish for the Swiss based outfit, their second such result of the season came following a fantastic performance in qualifying on Saturday which saw Felipe Nasr start the race from ninth place on the grid while Marcus Ericsson began the race from 10th place proving that like the Lotus F1 Team they have made a massive step forward over the winter but is also showed that Ferrari have supplied them with a great power unit.

In the race the order was reversed with Marcus Ericsson coming home in tethh place while Felipe Nasr finished the race in eighth place. Speaking following the race, Ericsson commented:

First of all, another great achievement for the team. Our target was to get both cars into the points, and in the end we managed to achieve that objective. My race was quite tough with a lot of fights all through it. I hoped our race pace would have been a bit stronger. I was struggling a bit to get the front tyres to work properly, so I could not maintain the pace the way I wanted to. Nevertheless, there were some great fights out there. I think I had a good race, and I am really happy to have finished in the points.’

Nasr who earlier this week credited Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen for investing in his motor racing career as the Brazilian drove for the Iceman in Formula 3 with Raikkonen/Robertson Racing commented by saying:

It was a great day for the team, as both cars scored points. I am very pleased for everyone. It was not an easy race for us, we were fighting against Lotus and Toro Rosso, and they seemed to have a better pace than us. For myself, I extracted everything I could from the car and also the strategy, so we can be satisfied with this result.’

Sauber F1 Team Principal Monisha Keltenborn stated:

We can be very happy with this result. We started the race in a promising position, however, it was a tough Grand Prix. The drivers had to deliver a lot and fought very hard, and this was also against competitors who were faster over this weekend. A big compliment to the drivers and to the whole team who did a great job. We started the race from points positions, and we were able to bring both cars home in the points. It’s great that we achieved our goal today.

Sauber go into the Bahrain Grand Prix next week in fourth place in the Constructors championship on 19 points, six ahead of the Infiniti Red Bull Racing Team. Speaking following the race the Hinwil based outfit’s Head of Track Engineering Giampaolo Dall’Ara commented:

I think we can be satisfied with the result. We were targeting having both cars in the points and we finally achieved it. The race was not an easy one. The tyre strategy was open until  the end, so that’s why we decided to go for a split second stint. The drivers drove well and maximised the result. It’s a good feeling for the  whole team to be back in the points with both cars.

© Ben Johnston 2015




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