Sauber F1 Team had a disappointing afternoon at the Sochi Autodrom after they were unable to reach the second phase of qualifying at the 2016 Russian Grand Prix, with Felipe Nasr nineteenth and Marcus Ericsson twenty-second and last.
After struggling with his tyres in qualifying, Ericsson had to settle for twenty-second behind the two Manor Racing cars, and will share the back row of the grid with Rio Haryanto.
“Obviously a disappointing result,” said Ericsson. “I felt that FP3 was a little step forward for me, but then again in qualifying I was struggling with the tyres.
“I had issues during the whole weekend to bring them into the right working window. I also had some traffic in qualifying, which did not help. Nevertheless, we were just not fast enough today. Tomorrow we will try to fight back.”
Felipe Nasr will start the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday in nineteenth for Sauber. Even with this unsatisfying result, the Brazilian is positive that he can fight for some positions in the race.
“Starting in P19 is surely an unsatisfying result,” said Nasr. “It is a pity as I was on a good lap at the end of Q1, but then I braked a bit too late into Turn 13. Anyway, I feel more comfortable in the car this weekend and this is what counts.
“In terms of the car set-up, we made good improvements from session to session, so I will now work on some details for tomorrow. I am positive I can fight for some positions in the race.”
