(© Ben Johnston 2015)
The Sauber F1 Team have made a fantastic start to the 2015
Formula One season when you consider where the Swiss based outfit were last
season.
In 2014, the Hinwil based outfit suffered their worst season
since they entered the sport in 1993. The outfit failed to secure a single
point and suffered mechanical problems with the new for 2014 brake by wire
system.
As a result of their tough season the team finished the 2014
campaign in 10th place in the championship with Esteban Gutierrez
and Adrian Sutil driving for the team. In 2015, the outfit have two new drivers
with Felipe Nasr joining the outfit making his Formula One race debut having
joined the team from Williams.
Marcus Ericsson joined the team from the Caterham F1 Team. Over
the winter Formula One lost the Caterham team despite the best efforts of Smith
and Williamson’s Finbarr O’Connell to save the team. The Marussia F1 Team
failed to complete the season however they have returned to the Formula One
grid in 2015 with the help of Northern Ireland’s Stephen Fitzpatrick.
(© Ben Johnston 2015)
There
were rumours over the winter that the Sauber F1 Team would also end up being
forced out of Formula One due to the spiralling costs in Formula One.
The team came back during winter testing showing that the
new C34 chassis was extremely quick due to the well packaged car and the new
Ferrari power unit. Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson were also extremely
impressive in the opening race of the season.
In Australia, Felipe Nasr finished the race in fifth place
while Marcus Ericsson finished the race in eighth place.
In China the pair finished the race in 8th and 10th
place respectively. The Sauber F1 Team are currently in fifth place in the
Constructors champion on 19 points as the Formula One circus heads to Spain for
the opening race of the European leg of the season at the Barcelona Circuit de
Catalunya in two weeks.
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(Sauber F1 Team)
The team are just four points behind former world champions
Infiniti Red Bull Racing who are in fourth place on 23 points.
Having seen the Sauber F1 Team in action during winter
testing in Barcelona it was clear to me that they had produced a decent car for
this season. It will be great to see how the Swiss based outfit get on at the
Spanish Grand Prix.
One thing is certain the team have shown so far this season
that small outfits such as the Sauber F1 Team can succeed in Formula One.
© Ben Johnston 2015
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