Saturday: Sauber is not up to the level
After another difficult qualifying session, the Sauber drivers are pessimistic about their chances of scoring a point before the return to Europe.
Esteban Gutierrez (n°21) – 14th and 15th
With an overweight Sauber, Esteban Gutierrez found himself battling with both Lotus drivers as well as his teammate, and beat all three: “I am satisfied with the result of the qualifications today. We managed to achieve some quick laps.” That said, the Mexican knows that Sauber is not where it would like to be: “We need to look forward and work hard, because we are missing quite a bit of pace to be where we want to be.”
For this weekend, Esteban Gutierrez got the maximum: “Today was the best I could extract from the car on my last lap. With the lower temperatures, the tires behave differently.” The goal now is to progress in the race, but the Mexican remains realistic: “With our pace, we cannot be in the top 10 at the moment. But if we continue to work, we can score some points in the future.”
Adrian Sutil (#99) – 15th and 18th [22nd on the grid after penalty]
After a difficult session, Adrian Sutil believes there wasn’t much to do today: « Of course, reaching Q2 could have been possible. Unfortunately, we are always too slow on the straights, and I personally struggle with the car’s overweight. » Additionally, the German encountered traffic on his second run: « That caused the abandonment of my last attempt. »
Qualified eighteenth, the Sauber driver is not very optimistic: “It will be difficult to finish in the points.” But Adrian Sutil thinks that the arrival in Europe will change things. “I’m really looking forward to this moment and I will give my all to make progress.”
