Sauber F1 Team driver Pascal Wehrlein was over the moon to come away with a point for the team at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, to add to his strong showing in qualifying on Saturday, and cap off an unexpectedly promising few days, after the surprising departure of Team Principal Monisha Kaltenborn.
The German took the chequered flag in tenth place, to add an extra point to the four he had already amassed for the team, by finishing eighth in Spain, back in May.
“I am happy with the 10th place.
“Making Q2 in qualifying yesterday, and scoring a point for the team today, has definitely been better than what we expected from this weekend.”
The German was helped by numerous incidents in Sunday’s chaotic race, but you have to be there to capitalise when these moments of good fortune come your way, and Wehrlein was right on the money when they did.
Because of that, he and the team are under no illusions that, that sort of performance was a likely one-off, and they still have plenty to do ahead of the next race in Austria, if they are to achieve similar results, in two weeks’ time.
“The race was defined by several interruptions, so we do have to stay realistic when it comes to our expectations for the next races. We have some improvements to make, and would not have been able to score under normal circumstances.
“Nonetheless, the 10th place is a great team effort. We gave all we had, and showed our dedication when it was most needed.”