Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team Australian Grand Prix qualifying 24.03.2018: Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix – Qualifying Saturday 24.03.2018 The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team concluded a positive

Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix – Qualifying
 Saturday 24.03.2018



The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team concluded a positive qualifying session at Albert Park with Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc in P17 and P18 respectively. After a morning marked with heavy rainfall, the third free practice session gave the teams a chance to complete some laps on wet and intermediate tyre compounds



. With the sun coming out in the afternoon, and in more representative running conditions, the two Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team drivers made another step forward. Tomorrow will bring a long and demanding race with the weather forecast still unpredictable, but Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc look confident going into the opening round of the FIA Formula 1 season.



Marcus Ericsson (car number 9):
C37 (Chassis 03/Ferrari)
Qualifying: 17th in Q1 (1:24.556 min / ultrasoft tyres)
3rd practice: 3th (1:28.890 min / ultrasoft tyres / 14 laps)



“The work done overnight by the engineers on track and at the headquarters in Switzerland paid off. All in all it was a good qualifying today. We have made good progress since yesterday when we were quite a long way off the competition.



We should be proud of the work that we have put in since then because it made a big difference. We are still not where we want to be, but today we were really close to Q2. We do have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are in the fight which is nice to see. Overall, I am happy with the progress and I look forward to the first race of the season”




Charles Leclerc (car number 16):
C37 (Chassis 02/Ferrari)
Qualifying: 18th in Q1 (1:24.636 min / ultrasoft tyres)
3rd practice: 16th (1:36.448 min / intermediate tyres / 12 laps)


“I had my first qualifying in Formula 1 today – so overall, it was an exciting day. We had a wet free practice session followed by a dry qualifying, which was not ideal as I could not practice for what lay ahead.



 In qualifying, I made a small error in turn 4 which cost us Q2 – a shame, but it is the first round of the season, so it was still a positive learning experience. Now, my focus is on making improvements going forward. Tomorrow, I will take part in my first Formula 1 race. I look forward to it very much.”
 
 
 
- Sauber Team  photos Sutton