(Sauber F1 Team)
The Sauber F1 Team head to the opening race of the European
season, the Spanish Grand Prix at the Barcelona Circuit De Catalunya this
weekend following a fantastic start to their 2015 season having secured two
double points finishes in the opening four Grand Prix of the season.
The Hinwil based outfit are currently in fifth place in the
championship on 19 points. Although they have had a strong start to the season
the team are mindful of the fact that they may struggle in the development race
with their rivals particularly as the F1 circus is now back in Europe.
The team
have confirmed that their test and reserve driver Raffaele Marciello will drive
in place of race driver Marcus Ericsson in the opening Free Practice session on
Friday. Speaking about this weekend’s race, Marciello stated:
‘Overall, it will be a busy weekend for me.
Besides my duties in the GP2 Series, I will be back in the Sauber C34-Ferrari
on Friday for FP1. I am really looking forward to it. I enjoy driving on this
track, as it consists of fast as well as slow-speed corners. It is important
being consistent over a lap, because if you push too much in the first sector,
which has some fast corners, the last sector with slow-speed corners could be
challenging as the tyres could overheat. My favorite part of the track is the left-right-right
combination, turns seven, eight and nine in sector two, which is quite fast. In
general I like high-speed corners, and also turn three is nice to drive. After
the race weekend, I will have the opportunity to drive the Sauber C34-Ferrari on
the second day of in-season testing in Barcelona. I am looking forward to
testing the car for one whole day during which I am able to collect some
mileage.’
Felipe Nasr has had an extremely impressive start to his
Formula One career with the Sauber F1 Team having finished the opening race in
Australia in fifth place while he also finished in eighth place in China while
last time out in Bahrain the Brazilian finished the race in 12th
place one lap down. Speaking ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix Nasr stated:
‘I am looking forward to our first race in
Europe. I know the track in Barcelona quite well from many of the series I have
raced in. It is a technical track, which requires a good downforce due to its
high-speed corners, as well as strong traction because of its slow-speed
corners in the last sector. These are the two main factors for a good lap time.
We have to maximise everything we have and take every opportunity to fight
again for points.’
Marcus Ericsson has also had a great start to the season and
has scored five points so far this following an eighth place finish in
Australia and a 10th place finish in China. Speaking ahead of the
Spanish Grand Prix, the Swedish driver commented saying:
‘It is nice coming back to Barcelona, a track we
know quite well from testing. The track is quite demanding for the tyres,
especially for the left front tyre and mainly because of turn three, which is a
long, right-hand bend. Normally with the warmer temperatures in Barcelona, I
assume the tyre degradation will be quite high. Thus, it will be crucial to
find a set-up on which we are able to set good lap times, as well as having
good tyre management. These are two facts we need to focus on during the
weekend building up to the race.’
Sauber F1 Team Head of Track Engineering, Giampaolo Dall’Ara
stated
‘After an
encouraging pre-season campaign at the Circuit de Catalunya, we head back there with some solid race achievements and aerodynamic upgrades. The first European race is known for a number of teams introducing improvements to their cars, therefore it will be important for us to keep up momentum and fight for points. We are aware that the conditions will be fairly different to how they were two months ago, and, therefore, some set-up adjustments will be needed to get the medium and hard tyres to work at their best in warmer temperatures. After the race, the team will stay in Spain for the first two days of in-season testing, when Marcus and Raffaele will work through an intense programme mainly featuring aerodynamics, the braking
system and the rear suspension.”
© Ben Johnston 2015
© Ben Johnston 2015
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