The Sauber F1 team remain pointless after a testing Canadian Grand Prix could only see Adrian Sutil finish thirteenth, while Mexican team-mate Esteban Gutierrez was classified fourteenth despite retiring towards the end of the race. The team head into Austria hopeful they can finally break into the top ten.
German driver Sutil has previous experience around the Red Bull Ring but in much less powerful cars than F1 cars. He hopes to build on the result of Canada where he finished thirteenth, and wants to keep pushing to get a good if not better result in Austria.
“I am looking forward to the Austrian Grand Prix,” said Sutil. “I have never been to Spielberg with Formula 1. I know the track from previous racing series in my career, and I really like it. At that time I was participating in Formula Ford and Formula 3. Obviously, I hope for a positive result there.
“In Canada it was good to finish the race and to get the maximum out of the car. The team also did a great job with the strategy and the pit stops. I hope we can build on this and make steps forward in every area. I am keeping up my motivation, and I am looking forward to the weekend in Spielberg.”
Team-mate Gutierrez on the other hand has never raced around the Red Bull Ring before in any formulae. He is looking forward to the challenge, but having raced around many Grand Prix tracks in 2013 for the first time, he knows how to learn circuits.
“The track in Spielberg is new for me and for many other drivers as well,” said Gutierrez. “It is always interesting to have new tracks on the Formula One race calendar. Last year there were quite a few tracks on which I drove for the first time, and now with Spielberg there is another new one. It is a fast circuit, so I am going to enjoy it.
“It will be an interesting event as the Austrians like Formula One and are nice and cheerful people. I hope we can feel the passion and the support for the sport, so that it can be a successful event. I am looking forward to the race weekend.”
Sauber’s Head of Track Engineering Giampaolo Dall’Ara is interested in how the set-up of the modern F1 cars differs from that in 2003 when Formula One last graced this circuit.
“The track in Spielberg is a relatively short one, consisting of significant straights with medium speed corners and a hairpin,” said Dall’Ara. “The race is back on the calendar after 11 years, so it will be interesting to set-up the modern Formula One cars for this track.
“The starting point of our preparatory simulation work was driving lines from back then. Of course quite some progress was also made on that side, and, with the level of detail we can get today, we will most probably just have to do some fine-tuning during free practice. We’ve been informed that the tarmac is moderately abrasive, and we don’t expect very hot ambient temperatures. Based on this information, we rate Pirelli’s choice of soft and supersoft as appropriate.”
