Abu Dhabi: The Saubers Still Lacking Performance
The Sauber F1 drivers finished at the back of the pack after Friday's free practice in Abu Dhabi as their cars are still not performing well enough. Adrian Sutil even encountered some technical issues.
Esteban Gutierrez took part in both free practice sessions of the day in Abu Dhabi, but the Mexican driver is struggling a bit with his Sauber, as shown by his rankings: 14th in FP1 and 15th in FP2.
But the Sauber driver remains optimistic, however: « This has been a positive day. We were able to take part in both sessions. I think it has been productive, even if we don’t have the pace we would like. It seems particularly complicated on the long runs. »
The problems are also present for Adrian Sutil, who only participated in FP2: « Unfortunately, I missed the first practice session in the afternoon. At the start of FP2, we had to replace the front disc brakes. These were obviously not ideal preparations. That’s the way things are at the moment, and we have to make the best of it. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and, moreover, I didn’t have optimal feelings in the car. »
The German driver had been replaced by Adderly Fong for FP1. The Chinese driver highlighted an amazing experience even if everything wasn’t perfect because adapting to an F1 car is never easy: It was a good session. The car is totally different from the C31 I drove in Valencia. Since it was hot today, the track temperatures were high, so it was tricky to get the tires to work well. I think for my first FP1, I pushed too hard. I was trying to accelerate as quickly as possible, but this driving style cost me time, especially in most of the slow corners like in the third sector.
