Sauber: Marciello on track in Free Practice 1 this Friday
Raffaele Marciello, the third driver for Sauber, will take part in the first free practice session in Malaysia. Felipe Nasr, who will give up his spot on Friday morning, believes that his team can perform well in Sepang.
Appointed as Sauber’s reserve driver at the beginning of 2015, Raffaele Marciello didn’t have to wait too long before being able to drive with his new team: « Driving the C34 for the first time will be very exciting. It will also be exciting for Italians, as we haven’t had an Italian driver in Formula 1 for a number of years [Jarno Trulli raced his last Grand Prix in 2011, Ed.]. »
The young Transalpine is not just there to learn; he will also have to find the right settings for the Sepang circuit, so as not to handicap Felipe Nasr too much: « I am convinced that I will do a good job and that I will also help the team to find the car settings to adapt to the circuit. I have never been to Malaysia before, but I know the circuit perfectly thanks to the Ferrari simulator in Maranello, and I am sure I can learn it quickly once I am on the track. »
Raffale Marciello, 8th in the last GP2 championship with one victory, has already driven a Formula 1 car during the tests following last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix; as a member of the Ferrari Academy – Sauber’s engine supplier -, he had set the second fastest time at the wheel of the F14 T, behind Pascal Wehrlein, the young Mercedes driver.
On his side, Felipe Nasr, two weeks after his surprising fifth place in Australia, will have to deal with the handicap of one less free practice session. According to the Brazilian, the Sauber should fortunately perform well at Sepang: « Looking closely at our winter tests, I am confident that the layout of the Malaysian circuit will suit our car. (…) It consists of a few long straights and fast corners, so I would expect a higher tire degradation there. On the other hand, it’s good to see that our car seems to have a satisfactory top speed, but I think more downforce could help us gain time in the fast corners. »
The Ferrari engine, making significant progress this year, had already enabled Sauber to collect a substantial number of points in Australia. It remains to be seen if the Swiss team will be able to replicate such a performance, with likely fewer retirements than in Melbourne.
