Contrary to the rumors that emerged after the Bahrain Grand Prix, the Sauber F1 Team has arrived in China and will be taking part in the Chinese Grand Prix. Last year’s Chinese Grand Prix was positive for the team and both drivers are hoping that the race weekend can provide the team with the chance to increase the car’s performance.
Speculation that was spread by the media in the days after the Bahrain Grand Prix suggested that the team would not make it to the Chinese Grand Prix because of some financial instability. This led some to believe that Ferrari was going to bail out the team and essentially turn them into a Ferrari C Team. Despite this speculation and any financial issues that the team may be facing at the moment, Sauber has confirmed that they have arrived at the Shanghai International Circuit and that they plan to take part in the race weekend.
The 2016 season has been any but great for the team. Delayed development on the car caused them to miss the first pre-season test, although they were able to run some laps with the 2015 car. Since there were only two pre-season tests this season, the team fell behind on testing and development compared to other teams. The Sauber C35 proved to be slightly less competitive than its predecessor, not scoring any points in the first two races of the season and only managing to get one car to the end of the Australian Grand Prix. The drivers agree that the car is not as competitive as it needs to be, with Felipe Nasr saying that he was “still not satisfied with the handling of the car” at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Marcus Ericsson has positive memories from the Chinese Grand Prix and believes that the team can improve:
“The Chinese Grand Prix brings back good memories from last season. We had a strong race weekend there, finishing with both cars in the points. I put in a good performance with some nice battles on track. In the end I saw the chequered flag in P10. For this year’s race weekend on the Shanghai International Circuit, I feel confident that we can build up our performance from Bahrain and make another step forward there.”
At the 2015 Chinese Grand Prix, both of the cars finished in the points: Nasr finishing P8 and Ericsson in P10. The circuit requires a car with a lot of traction in order to cope with the combination of low, medium and high-speed corners. Although the circuit has various technical areas, a car with a good top speed is also required in order to perform well at the Shanghai International Circuit.
“Looking back to the Bahrain Grand Prix about a week ago, I hope that the team was able to sort out the issues I had with the C35. The objective is clearly to be more competitive,” explained Felipe Nasr. “I am looking forward to the Chinese Grand Prix as the track characteristics should suit our car.”
Sauber will be looking for their first points of the season in China. The cars hit the action this weekend for the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix, with the race taking place on April 17.
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