Sauber aims for 6th place, according to James Key
Armed with a duo of young and talented drivers, the Sauber F1 team positions itself behind the leading teams and hopes to maintain this position even though James Key expects a fierce battle with its direct competitors.
With 35 points in ten Grand Prix, Sauber is in sixth position in the constructors’ championship with a 15-point lead over Force India and 18 over Toro Rosso, its main rivals. Ahead of it, Renault has 66 points, a large part of this coming from the two podiums the English team secured in the first two races of the season. Since then, the two teams have been quite competitive as Sauber scored 29 points and LRGP 36 points in the following eight races.
James Key, technical director of the Swiss team, believes that even though the mission will prove difficult, maintaining this sixth place is within the realm of possibility: « Half a season remains. It will be extremely difficult but I think it’s possible and we should aim for this goal ».
The Briton focuses primarily on Force India: “They have certainly made a step forward, and we have to do the same.” But he also looks at Renault: “They were certainly stronger than us this weekend, but despite that, we finished ahead of them.”
He also reflects on the team’s performance, which struggled in Germany: « Our weekend was particularly bad because we were losing a second per lap. Under these (weather) conditions, we were not very fast, and I hope this will be resolved by the next Grand Prix ».
More generally, Key calls for caution: « I think we need to be careful, of course, but we have improvements coming and a big lead ». He looks ahead to the next race at the Hungaroring: « A hot circuit is generally something good for us. We’ll have to see in terms of traction, but this track should suit us well. Certainly better than the Nurburgring ».
