Sauber F1 team are looking to capitalize on a strong two days testing in Bahrain at this weekends Chinese Grand Prix.
The Swiss team who have only managed to have both cars finish once this year were able to gather valuable data in Bahrain testing which helped them optimize their troublesome electronic systems. This will allow both C33’s to run minor upgrades at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Esteban Gutierrez will receive a new chassis this weekend after his spectacular accident with Pastor Maldonado in Bahrain. Gutierrez is hoping to put that incident behind him and is looking forward to racing in Shanghai where he has some fond memories.
“I have nice memories of Shanghai from last year. It was probably one of the best race starts in my Formula 1 career – after the start and during the opening laps I was able to overtake a lot of cars. Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish the race.”
Gutierrez also believes that with the new upgrades he can get the maximum out of the car. “Looking back to the last three races, my performance will help me to get the maximum out of the car, in both qualifying and the race. I hope we can increase our level of competition so we can achieve better results.”
Unlike his team-mate Adrian Sutil isn’t as fond of racing in China. “It is not my favourite track, but I still like driving there. On this track a good balance for the car and a lot of grip on the front axle is needed. I believe the layout should be a good fit for the C33.”
Sutil has only managed to finish one race so far this year in Australia down in 11th. But the German remains upbeat about the teams prospects moving forward. “I am positive about the weekend. We have to look forward, and every future race will move us furthermore up to the front.”
Head of Track Engineering Giampaolo Dall’Ara also views the Chinese Grand Prix as a possible turning point in the teams fortunes. “The team keeps working relentlessly to get on top of the performance limitations that so far have not allowed us to race where we want to. We look forward to the Chinese Grand Prix as the next step, thanks to a number of updates.”
