The Sauber F1 Team left Silverstone without adding to their 2015 points tally, with Felipe Nasr failing to start and Marcus Ericsson dropping out of the points after being caught out by pitting for slick tyres a lap before the change to intermediates was required.
Ericsson had been on course to score his first points since the Chinese Grand Prix in April, but dropped to eleventh as a result of his extra pit stops, and admitted his disappointment of missing out on the top ten by less than five seconds.
“It is disappointing to miss out on points when we had it in the bag for quite a long time,” reflected Ericsson. “The first half of the race was reasonable; I had a good start, gaining some positions on lap one.
“My pace was good, so I was able to keep up with our direct competitors. It was one of those days when it was difficult to make predictions, as it started to rain on some parts of the track and others were still dry. It was not an easy situation, either for the drivers or for the team.
“Unfortunately, we made too many pit stops today. We need to sit down and analyse what we could have done differently.”
Team-mate Nasr was unable to start the race after suffering a gearbox problem on the reconnisance lap on the way to grid. The Brazilian stopped on the Hangar Straight initially, before making it back to the pit lane, but was diagnosed with a terminal problem that saw his race end before the lights even went out.
“An unlucky day for me,” said Nasr. “When I went out to the starting grid I got stuck in sixth gear.
“As soon as I returned to the garage the team detected a mechanical issue with the gearbox. It is a shame. Looking at the number of cars that retired, this was a race in which I could have taken advantage of some situations.
“Now we have to look forward and focus on the next race weekend in Budapest.”
