Friday: Sauber can still improve at Silverstone
Neither Giedo van der Garde, Adrian Sutil, nor Esteban Gutiérrez appeared genuinely satisfied with the behavior of the Sauber C33 on the Silverstone track. However, the Sauber F1 drivers remain confident in their ability to improve their setups for qualifying and the race.
Esteban Gutiérrez (no. 21) – 13th and 13th
The Mexican is satisfied with his British Friday as he tried things with his engineers: « Overall, it has been a positive day and I think we are heading in the right direction. We worked aggressively on the settings: it’s a way to find something new and explore opportunities. »
But it didn’t necessarily work as well as expected and there is still work to do: « This morning, we struggled with the setup changes, but we are trying to find a compromise. Moreover, we need to find stability under braking. »
Adrian Sutil (No. 99) – 18th [FP2]
Same observation for the German who struggled with his Sauber C33 this afternoon: « I couldn’t drive much today because I missed the first practice session. It was difficult to feel comfortable in the car during the afternoon session. The settings were not ideal, but that’s why the car didn’t react as we hoped. We changed something, but it didn’t bring the reaction we expected. »
Giedo van der Garde (no.36) – 15th [FP1]
The Dutchman replaced Adrian Sutil during the first free practice session and was thrilled to drive a Formula 1 car again: « It was nice to be back in the car. In the first stint, I needed a bit of time to get used to the car because the last time I drove the C33, it was quite a while ago. »
He was pleased with the behavior of his car, even though there’s room for improvement. He is satisfied nonetheless because it served as preparation: The car has improved in several areas, but there is still work to be done. I had understeer in the corners while braking. It can get better. I covered 19 laps in total, which I am satisfied with. It was a good session and a good warm-up for my test day on Wednesday.
