Formula 1 – Straightforward start for Sauber in Canada

The Sauber F1 Team had a straightforward start to the Canadian Grand Prix weekend. The Sauber C31-Ferraris and its drivers, Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Pérez, seem to be quite competitive on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

Weather: overcast but dry, 21-24°C air, 21-27°C track

Kamui Kobayashi:Sauber C31-Ferrari (Chassis 03/Ferrari 056)1st Practice: 7th / 1:16.000 min (31 laps) / 2nd Practice: 6th / 1:15.651 min (37 laps)“I am happy as we had a very smooth day today. It was nice that the weather conditions remained stable and the rain only came after the second free practice was over. I think we are doing alright in terms of set-up, but it is difficult to say how this will look tomorrow as we are expecting higher track temperatures. For me both tyre compounds, the soft and the super soft, look okay. The difference between them is quite small.”

Sergio Pérez:Sauber C31-Ferrari (Chassis 04/Ferrari 056)1st Practice: 8th / 1:16.249 min (32 laps) / 2nd Practice: 11th / 1:15.898 min (38 laps)“My car is very well balanced on a high fuel load, but we need to improve it for qualifying conditions, as we haven’t got that right yet. However, I have the feeling we can be quite competitive here, and I am really looking forward to my first qualifying and race on this track. Getting used to the circuit wasn’t an issue at all because I knew it from last year’s first practice session as well as the simulator.“

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering:“It was quite a smooth day. In the morning, we had to adapt the programme because some heavy rain was expected for the afternoon. We, therefore, moved some of the planned runs forward. Still we decided not to use all our tyres, which turned out to be the right decision because in the end it didn’t rain, so we were able to do a lot of mileage and test many different things. Overall we are happy, but there is still a bit of work to be done for two reasons. First of all we have to assess what’s best for the race, and secondly the weather is expected to get a lot hotter, so we have to adapt what he have learned today to warmer conditions. Overall it was a good day.”