Monisha Kaltenborn praised the whole Sauber F1 Team after seeing Felipe Nasr finally secure their first points of the season in the penultimate race of the year at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Sunday.
Nasr’s two points for ninth position moved Sauber ahead of the Manor Racing MRT in the Constructors’ Championship with just the finale in Abu Dhabi to come, and Team Principal Kaltenborn believed that the points were deserved after a tough 2016 season for the Hinwil-based team.
Unfortunately in the other side of the garage, Marcus Ericsson was an early retiree from the Brazilian Grand Prix, but Kaltenborn believes the result for Nasr goes a long way towards confirming themselves in tenth in the standings, and will be doing their best in Abu Dhabi at the end of November.
“First of all, I want to thank the whole team at the track, as well as at the headquarters in Hinwil,” said Kaltenborn. “Despite the difficult circumstances, the team has always worked very hard and believed in its skills with a strong belief – therefore, these points are well deserved.
“We knew that it would have been possible to score points in wet conditions, even from the back of the field – Felipe made it possible with an exceptional performance here in Interlagos. Ninth position at his home race in front of his fans gives everyone in the team a lot of joy.
“Marcus was unlucky in these difficult track conditions and retired. Now we will focus on the season finale in Abu Dhabi, where we will again fight for tenth position in the constructors’ championship.”
