Sauber begins its 20th season with ambition

The Sauber team is starting its 20th year in Formula 1 this season, but Peter Sauber believes that routine is not part of the Swiss team’s daily life: « You might expect the first race of the season to be routine by now, but it is absolutely not the case. I even feel that the excitement this year is special. The pre-season tests have given the impression that the competition will be even tighter than before. Apparently, the mid-field teams have closed the gap with the major teams. »

Sauber also revealed that his team had set ambitious goals for this new season, despite two rather inconsistent years in 2010 and 2011: « I am delighted with the progress made during these tests, and I believe we are well prepared. We have to be because we have set high goals for 2012. We want to score points consistently and significantly improve our position in the constructors’ championship. We are aware that this seems very ambitious, but we are working on it.»

The Swiss team wants to continue to grow, and that’s exactly what the two drivers lined up in 2012 want – Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez, who were already racing for Sauber in 2011. Kobayashi will begin his third season with the Swiss team, and he hopes to be more regularly in the points: “I’m looking forward to what will be my third season in Formula 1, and also my third season with the Sauber F1 team. We have had promising pre-season tests with the C31, and the car seems good. This, combined with the experience I gained last year, makes me very confident. For me, the main goal is to be more consistent this year. In 2012, we had a difficult start to the season and came back in the second half. In 2011, it was the opposite – we started well but struggled afterward. If we can consistently be at the top of our potential, we can score points more regularly. We must do it. Personally, I’ve trained a lot this winter and I’m well prepared as a result.”

The Japanese driver is delighted to return to Melbourne because he loves the atmosphere of the Australian track: Melbourne is a beautiful place to start the season because people love car racing and Formula 1. The city is very lively, and as soon as you arrive there, the atmosphere tells you: Great, we’re here again, it’s time to start! The Albert Park circuit itself has an interesting layout. The fact that it’s not a permanent race track and is very slippery at the beginning of the weekend makes the task of setting up the car difficult for this first Grand Prix, but adapting to the constantly improving grip level is a challenge for everyone.

Like his teammate, Sergio Perez is eager to resume competition. The Mexican driver is starting his second season in F1, so he knows the circuits, which should allow him to focus more on his driving style to be more efficient and faster on the track: « I’m really looking forward to racing again. My feelings for this season are quite different from last year when everything was new to me. Now, with a season of F1 behind me, I feel physically and mentally capable of doing my job well. One year of experience is not a lot, but at least it allows me to focus more on performance than last year. I have been able to get used to many things you face as a Formula 1 driver. This includes the procedures and communication within the team, but it also involves balancing my personal life with all these travels.»

Perez doesn’t really set specific goals for this new F1 season; he wants to give 100% at every moment. Regarding the first race of the season, the Mexican driver isn’t quite sure what to expect as the Albert Park circuit can bring its share of surprises: My goal for 2012 is to get the most out of the car in every situation and to establish myself in Formula 1. We made good progress during testing and learned a lot from the new car. Nevertheless, the Melbourne circuit can create some surprises. Last year, for example, we never thought we could make just one stop during the race because the tests suggested greater tire degradation. So we’ll see how we can manage this first Grand Prix, and even though the Melbourne track is special and not the most representative, we’ll get an initial indication of our position in terms of performance.

Knowing where the C31 stands compared to its rivals is something everyone within the Swiss team is eagerly anticipating, as stated by Giampaolo Dall’Ara, the head of track engineers: « After the three pre-season test sessions, everyone in the team is looking forward to starting the season and seeing where we are compared to our competitors. As a team, we feel well-prepared. Sergio is no longer a beginner, and both our drivers will continue to work with the same race engineers as last year, which will allow us to start at a higher level. »

The Australian circuit is not a complicated track in itself, the hardest part being to adapt to the different changes in conditions as the track rubbers in: The Albert Park circuit includes acceleration/braking turns and direction changes, so good traction and braking stability are required. Considering that Albert Park is not a permanent track, the grip level changes significantly throughout the weekend. This is something we need to take into account when setting up the car, in addition to the fact that the circuit seems to be tougher on the rear tires than most of the circuits where we have tested this year.

A weak point of the Melbourne circuit is the difficulty of overtaking, but Giampaolo Dall’Ara believes that with the presence of two DRS zones – whereas there was only one in 2011 – this should allow for overtaking: « The track temperature will also be an important factor, but it can vary significantly depending on the weather. Historically, overtaking has always been difficult in Melbourne, but this time, there will be two DRS zones. »

Between the first race of the season and the last pre-season testing session, two weeks will have passed, so there’s no time to revolutionize the C31, but Dall’Ara has stated that the Swiss team has nevertheless planned a few small innovations for this first race of the season: Regarding the tires, Pirelli will bring the Mediums and the softs. These two compounds are more aggressive than last year’s, which should lead to more pit stops. Technically, we will have the same car specifications as those tested during the last Barcelona sessions with some minor modifications. Given the results of this last testing session, we are confident that we can have a good start to the season.