The race remains open between Sauber and Mercedes for the fifth place
With only a 20-point deficit to Mercedes in the constructors' standings, Sauber can still hope to secure the fifth place currently held by the German manufacturer. To achieve this, the Swiss team will need to score big points, starting with the Indian Grand Prix, where Sergio Pérez believes the C31 should be more comfortable than in South Korea.
On the eve of the Indian Grand Prix, the Sauber team is 20 points behind fifth place in the constructors’ standings, currently held by Mercedes. Far from being insurmountable, especially given the Swiss team’s ability to achieve good results, as Kamui Kobayashi demonstrated at the Japanese Grand Prix, this gap has remained relatively stable since the summer break, with the Hinwil and Brackley teams more or less neutralizing each other. “I can’t believe there are only four races left, the season is going to end quickly. Recovering 20 points to finish fifth in the constructors’ championship means we have work ahead of us,” says Sergio Pérez.
The objective of Monisha Kaltenborn, director of the Swiss team, is therefore to score a lot of points, whether in India or in the other remaining races. For this, Sauber will be able to rely on a C31 that has always more or less performed well on high-downforce circuits: Technically, the Greater Noida circuit should not be a problem for the C31, but it is not our favorite circuit either. We must remain focused and optimize our potential there, confides the Austrian.
If Sergio Pérez thinks that the Indian Grand Prix should suit Sauber more than South Korea and that the C31 will be faster there, Kamui Kobayashi remains cautious: “I am curious to see what the circuit will look like when we arrive there for the second time. Last year, everything was new, and the track surface was very dusty. As such, the layout leads us to believe that our performance should be average, which means we should be able to score a few points there.”
On the Silver Arrows side, Michael Schumacher states that the team will do everything to maintain its fifth place in the constructors’ standings: « After two races that have not been entirely satisfactory, we naturally hope for a more positive trend to come, and I can say that everyone within the team has put in a lot of effort to achieve this. Let’s see what we can do. »
One thing is certain, however, with 231 and 251 points behind Red Bull, respectively, Mercedes and Sauber now no longer have, mathematically speaking, any chance of being world constructors’ champions.
