Buddh 2013 - GP Preview - Sauber Ferrari

The first double points score of the season in Japan was a great result for the Sauber F1 Team. Now the team is determined to continue the momentum as it travels to the home country of its Team Principal Monisha Kaltenborn for the 2013 Indian Grand Prix, which takes place from 25th to 27th of October at the Buddh International Circuit. Both drivers are looking forward to a track that is technically challenging and fun to drive.

Nico Hülkenberg

“Last year I had a good result in India as I finished eighth, so it was great to get some points. It is quite a nice track and one of the modern ones with some tricky sectors, especially sector two as there are a lot of corners that are combined. It is not one of my favourite circuits, but it is still nice to be driving there. When I was racing for an Indian team I had to arrive quite early, do a big PR tour and do a bit of promotion for Formula One. India is a very exotic country. As regards the food, I am not that used to it and certainly don’t like spicy food, so that makes it quite tricky, and I always have to ask for a very, very mild dish. Paneer tikka is actually my favourite local dish there which is delicious.”

Esteban Gutiérrez

“I know the Buddh International Circuit from driving in free practice for Checo (Perez) last year, and I completed 29 laps. It is another track that I like, because it has really long straights, very good braking and fast chicanes, which make the driving experience very special. There is quite a lot of margin for error with the run-off areas, but in order to put a good lap in you need to be perceise. You have slow and medium speed corners that are quite technical, like turns five, six and seven. This is quite challenging for the tyres. The goal will be to continue the rhythm we found and translate that into results.”

Tom McCullough, Head of Track Engineering

“The Buddh International Circuit has similar characteristics to the track in South Korea. The first sector is dominated by long straights and low speed corners, the second sector is made up of medium to high speed corners, and there is a short, low speed final sector. There is some significant elevation change during the lap, which also contributes to it being a challenging and rewarding circuit for the drivers. Pirelli will provide the soft and medium compounds. The medium as the prime tyre is one step softer than last year. We are fighting in a very tight area of the grid where maximising what you have is the name of the game. As in the previous four races, our aim is to get into Q3 and continue to score valuable championship points.”