Sauber wants to avoid mistakes, especially in qualifying
Sauber comes out of two difficult races, marked either by collisions or poor qualifications. Like Lotus, the Swiss team is now keen on fully succeeding on Saturdays to position themselves better to avoid any issues and take better advantage in the race of their C31's smoothness with the tires.
Since returning to Europe, Sauber has been struggling. The Hinwil team is only the 8th best performer over the last two races, scoring just two points in Valencia with Sergio Pérez. Meanwhile, Mercedes has logically pulled away, and Force India has closed the gap to 16 points. The gap with Williams, its direct pursuer, has remained stable, decreasing slightly from 14 to 13 points. The trend, in any case, is a tightening battle for the 6th place in the hierarchy.
The problems encountered during this period are of two kinds. Firstly, three times out of four, the drivers qualified beyond the 7th row. Only Kamui Kobayashi managed to reach the 7th place on the grid – in the rain. Secondly, race circumstances hindered the Swiss team’s progress: two collisions with Williams drivers (Kamui Kobayashi and Bruno Senna in Valencia, their two teammates at Silverstone) and a too-quick entry into the pits for the Japanese driver on English soil, knocking over several of his mechanics, fortunately without too much damage.
Difficulties that are to be regarded in the past according to Monisha Kaltenborn, CEO of Sauber Motorsport, who remains confident for the future: « On several occasions this season, we haven’t scored a single point, and this for different reasons. In hindsight, there’s no use in chasing after those points; we must look forward. The Sauber C31 has proven to be quick on all types of circuits. And we have two good drivers – Sergio has had two podiums this year, and Kamui has shone with a 4th place in qualifying and a 5th in the race. Both have set fastest laps in the race. We have everything needed to end the first half of the season positively, and that’s our goal in Hockenheim. »
A confidence shared by its drivers. While Kamui Kobayashi believes the C31 is competitive on all tracks—fast and slow, Sergio Pérez thinks it’s important to improve in qualifying, highlighting Saturday as an absolute priority: “Our car is fast and if we could just do everything right this time, we have a good chance of achieving a good result.”
The focus is on Germany and the Hockenheim circuit, as it’s their turn this year alternating with the Nürburgring. For Kamui Kobayashi, it’s an opportunity to return to a track where he’s had a lot of experience: “I love the Hockenheim circuit and I have great experience there, in Formula Renault, F3, GP2, and F1. Usually, when we’re there for the Grand Prix, it’s quite hot,” explains the Japanese driver. “I am very excited about racing in Germany, which is not so far from Hinwil, so it’s somewhat of a home race.”
His teammate also appreciates the German circuit, where he has already won in lower categories, not to mention that he has already lived across the Rhine: “I’m looking forward to racing at Hockenheim for the first time in Formula 1. I have good memories of the circuit during my time in GP2, where I won,” says Sergio Pérez. “At Hockenheim, I particularly like the Stadium, which is demanding in terms of driving and has a great atmosphere. Also, it’s nice for me to return to Germany after living there for two years at the beginning of my career. I spent the first year in Vilsbiburg in Bavaria, and the following one in Berlin.”
On the technical side, Giampaolo Dall’Ara, head of track engineering, first points out that alternation leads to firsts on this circuit: “We haven’t raced at Hockenheim since 2010, so it will be the first time we’ll use Pirelli tires and DRS there.” Moreover, he describes the circuit as “a mix of everything, although fast corners are not as important as at Silverstone.” On average, the characteristics it demands are closer to those of Valencia. Braking stability and traction are important, but you also need top speed, particularly in the parabolic where overtaking should be possible. Hockenheim’s asphalt is very smooth. Pirelli has chosen the Soft and Medium tires, which at first glance seems like a conservative choice. But temperatures can be high in July at Hockenheim, so we’ll see how that will affect the tires.
On the C31, not much will change, except to finish the evaluation work started at the British Grand Prix: « We will have some minor modifications at the rear of the car, and we do not know 100% the effects of all the new features we introduced at Silverstone, because due to bad weather, we couldn’t take all the measurements we had planned. However, I am confident. Our performance will be up to par again, as our car has been fast on a variety of different circuits this year, » concluded the Italian optimistically.
