Friday: Sauber hopes for another step forward
After a clutch problem delayed his departure in Free Practice 1, Esteban Gutiérrez encountered a new issue, which was eventually resolved in the afternoon. Giedo van der Garde and Adrian Sutil shared the day in the other car, and both reported difficulty in getting the tires to work properly.
Adrian Sutil (n°99) – 17th [FP2]
After giving up his seat in the Sauber to Giedo van der Garde, Adrian Sutil was able to take to the track in the afternoon. At first, the car’s handling was not ideal. I was struggling with the tires, having difficulty getting them to work. The German highlights the remaining work while noting the progress made: Compared to Bahrain, I think we have better top speed, which brings us closer to the teams in front of us.
Despite this, Adrian Sutil is not satisfied with this position: « In terms of lap times, we are closer to our direct opponents, but we are clearly not where we would like to be. »
Esteban Gutiérrez (No. 21) – 18th and 16th
While the Mexican driver had finished the Bahrain race with a rollover, the start of his weekend was not perfect. The clutch problem did not allow the first free practice to start ideally, but the team did a great job fixing this issue quickly. Esteban Gutiérrez was therefore able to hit the track during the first free practice, only to encounter a problem with the ERS, which explains his significantly slower lap times. However, this allowed the team to work: we continued to drive to work on the car’s balance.
During the afternoon, the Sauber driver also worked on race preparation. We were able to do long stints. But like Adrian Sutil, Gutiérrez acknowledges that Sauber is not currently where they would like to be. We will continue to push to get things in order, in an effort to take another step forward.
Giedo van der Garde – 14th [FP1]
The Dutchman was able to take to the track with the Sauber during the first free practice session, which went well for him « It was a good session. Having been in the car for a whole day during the Bahrain tests made a big difference. » Like Adrian Sutil, the former Caterham driver struggled with his tires: « The track was quite cold, so it wasn’t easy to get the tires working. »
Despite this, Giedo van der Garde was able to work on the car’s settings and is satisfied with his day. « I am therefore satisfied with the way these Free Practice 1 sessions went. It’s good to be back in the car once again. »
