Sauber: No developments before Belgium
Fourteen points scored at the first Grand Prix, seven thereafter: Sauber, whose car hasn't evolved since Australia, is struggling to confirm its resounding early-season performances. The blue and yellow C34 won't evolve until Belgium.
After a spectacular start to the season with fourteen points scored at the Australian Grand Prix, Sauber is gradually falling back in the rankings. Five points scored in China, followed by two in Monaco, have been the only other positive outcomes for the Swiss team since March. The explanation for this slow decline is not far-fetched: due to a lack of funds, Sauber has only made very marginal updates to its C34 since Australia; and the next significant developments (chassis and engine) are not expected until September, during the Belgian Grand Prix.
In the meantime, Felipe Nasr, the rookie of the team, has to bide his time. “It’s difficult,” admitted the Brazilian to F1Zone.net. “I would say that I’m eager for these developments to arrive as soon as possible, but I’m not going to be upset by the result in Canada [14th place for Ericsson, 16th for Nasr]; we must always keep working to improve.”
The former GP2 driver nonetheless acknowledges that the lack of grip in his car was felt in Canada: « The cornering and traction were not good at all for me. When I was up against other cars, I could feel that we were far behind in these areas… we expected something completely different, so that’s why we were a bit surprised by the outcome. »
Marcus Ericsson, whose points tally is lower than that of his teammate (5 points scored against 16 for Nasr), warns that his team cannot remain passive until Belgium: “We always need to keep fighting, and we are not that far off in qualifying. We need to improve our race pace. (…) [In Canada], we got everything right with the strategy, driving, car balance… but we were just lacking pace – it’s as simple as that. (…) We can’t just wait for updates because we need to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves, as there will be races where such opportunities will occur. We need to analyze each Grand Prix and not be too negative.”
Sauber has not yet benefited from the improved Ferrari V6 power unit: this should be the case in Belgium. Still 6th in the Constructors’ Championship, the Swiss team could soon be threatened by Force India-Mercedes, which will introduce the B version of its car at the upcoming Grand Prix.
