Nico Hulkenberg says Sauber have still got more time to find in their new C32 machine between now and the first Grand Prix of the season in Australia. The German was fourth fastest on the last day of testing in Barcelona but isn’t totally satisfied with the balance of the new car just yet.
“We did most of the planned programme with a qualifying and a race simulation. The qualifying simulation went quite smoothly, but we have some potential left with the balance of the car and some homework to do before Melbourne. But I think that we found some interesting directions, and overall I’m quite satisfied. The race simulation didn’t go hundred percent according to plan. Tyre degradation at the beginning is very high, and it’s quite challenging to keep tyres alive.”
Head of Track Engineering Tom McCullough was frustrated to see another reliability niggle affect the team but still thinks they have gained a good understanding of the C32.
“On the final day of winter testing we had some technical issues, which didn’t allow us to complete the full race simulation. We will go back to our technical base and analyse all the data to exploit the full potential of the car at the first race in Melbourne. Overall the three winter tests were quite successful for our team. We completed a lot of laps and got a good understanding of our new car which will allow us to make the right decisions in the forthcoming weeks.”
