Race - Abu Dhabi GP report: Sauber Ferrari

Despite finishing the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix night race in P15 (Marcus Ericsson) and P16 (Felipe Nasr), the Sauber F1 Team reached its objective by maintaining tenth position in the Constructors’ Championship. In the Drivers’ Championship Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson were 17th and 22nd with the Sauber C35-Ferrari.

As the season finale marked the last race with the current generation of Formula One cars, the Sauber F1 Team will fully concentrate on next year’s Sauber C36-Ferrari. As of 2017, new technical regulations will bring the pinnacle of motorsport into an exciting era.

Marcus Ericsson

“It was quite a challenging race. We completed the 55 laps with a one-stop strategy, and I think we executed it quite well. Overall, I am satisfied with my performance today, but obviously the result does not show that. I managed the tyres well for a fair amount of laps, so I could push without too much tyre management. However, we just did not have the pace today. With the season finale we go into the winter break, during which we will recharge our batteries for 2017. I am excited going into this new era of Formula One. A big thanks to everyone, both here at the track as well as in Hinwil at the factory, for a challenging and tough year. We have been sticking together and worked hard – this will make us stronger in the future.”

Felipe Nasr

“I had a very good start, climbing up to P14 on lap one. I did fight hard to stay there as long as I could, but we just did not have the pace to keep the competitors behind us. In the middle stint we were looking ok, just making sure to keep the Manors behind us, but unfortunately there was contact between one Manor and myself. The floor as well as the rim were damaged, and we also thought that the front wing was damaged, which forced me to come in for an earlier pit stop than originally planned. The race was compromised by then. If this incident hadn’t happened, we could have finished a bit higher up in the rankings. But most important was to guarantee our tenth position in the Constructors’ Championship. I am happy that we confirmed this position in the end. Summarising the season, I have enjoyed another year with Sauber. It was a challenging and difficult season, but I think these are the times when we learn the most. My relationship with everyone in the team was strong while facing challenging times throughout the season. The two points at the Brazilian Grand Prix made it all worthwhile – the whole team deserves it. Many thanks to everyone.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal

“First of all, we congratulate Nico and the whole Mercedes team for the championships. We are also pleased for Force India finishing fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. In our last race of the season it was all about securing tenth position in the Constructors’ Championship. We adjusted our strategy to achieve that, and it worked out in the end. I really want to say ‘thank you’ to the whole team, at the track as well as at the factory in Hinwil. Marcus and Felipe did a good job as well as keeping focused, especially in difficult times. What we have achieved in this tough season is credited to our team work. We have stuck together, continued to work hard and fought throughout the season. We can build on that next year and we already look forward to 2017.”