Sauber F1 Team Australian GP race review 15.03.2015: Rolex Australian Grand Prix – Race – Sunday, 15.03.2015 Weather: sunny and dry, 17-19°C air, 29-38°C track

Rolex Australian Grand Prix – Race – Sunday, 15.03.2015


Weather: sunny and dry, 17-19°C air, 29-38°C track




Fantastic start by the Sauber F1 Team into the new season: In the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne Felipe Nasr finished fifth, while his teammate Marcus Ericsson scrambled for eighth place. This result brought the team a total of 14 championship points.



Marcus Ericsson (car number 9):

Sauber C34-Ferrari (Chassis 02/Ferrari)
Start on medium tyres, after 1, 26 and 43 laps change to soft tyres

“First of all, the team has done a great job over the winter. It is amazing for everyone in the team here in Melbourne and also back home in the factory to get this result in the first race weekend of the 2015 season. We have seen good progress during pre-season testing, and with this achievement I am really happy for everyone.


For me as a driver, I have scored my first points in Formula One, which is a big goal achieved. Now, we can build on this for the next race.”



Felipe Nasr (car number 12):

Sauber C34-Ferrari (Chassis 01/Ferrari)
Start on soft tyres, after 25 laps change to medium tyres

“I am very happy with fifth position in my first ever Formula One race. It is such a big relief for the team and myself that we are able to score points, and I am very pleased about this achievement. It was a tough race.


Right after the start it was quite messy in turn 1, as another driver hit my wheel. I thought the car was damaged a bit, but after a few laps I noticed everything was fine. After that, the race went according to plan. There was pressure from behind during the whole race, which was not easy.


That was an emotional race for me and everyone in the team.”



Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal:

“That was a great achievement by the whole team. We already saw during qualifying that we are competitive, but being able to achieve these positions by our own efforts is a bit of a surprise. It is a confirmation of our hard work and a great reward for the team that had to deal with unfavourable circumstances.


 This applies to the crew in Hinwil as well as to the team at the race track. It was an outstanding achievement which we have to be proud of. Obviously, I am very happy about our two drivers who both put in a great performance, and in the end they made this great result possible for us.”





Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering:


“It was definitely a great Sunday with a great result. We had a pretty troublefree race.  With Felipe we stuck to the original strategy we had planned for him. I have to say that he did an excellent job making up places and keeping Daniel Ricciardo behind him.


He drove a fantastic race all the way. Reaching P5 in his first Formula One race was an outstanding achievement. Marcus had to start from further behind and was on the medium tyres. Nevertheless he managed to make up a couple of places on lap one.


Then we decided to bring him in during the safety car period and put him on the soft tyres to give him a boost. We gave up a couple of positions, which he was able to recover quickly. At some point we had to make the decision whether to leave him out or to go more aggressively and stop again.


We went for the second option and asked him to push to the maximum. He did a very good job and was able to overtake Carlos Sainz Jr. and clinch eighth position. Everybody in the team did a fantastic job and I’m really happy about what we delivered today.“      
 


Hanspeter Brack, Marleen Seilheimer, photos Sauber