Race - Australian GP report: Sauber Ferrari

It was a disappointing season opener for the Sauber F1 Team ahead of the 2016 FIA Formula 1 World Championship in Melbourne. Felipe Nasr finished the race at the Albert Park in P15, Marcus Ericsson had to retire in lap 39 as vibrations appeared on the left rear tyre of his Sauber C35-Ferrari. The car is still under investigation.

There was a massive crash in lap 17 which left everyone breathless for a moment. Luckily, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutierrez were uninjured. After the race was red-flagged, Marcus Ericsson got a drive through penalty following the re-start. The infringement was for work continuing on Marcus’ car at the 15 seconds signal in the pit lane.

Marcus Ericsson

“It was not a good day. When the race was interrupted, I had an issue with one tyre warmer on the pit lane. It could not be removed as quickly as usual, so I got a drive through penalty for that. After the race resumed, I felt that something was wrong with the left rear tyre, so I went back to the garage. Sometimes these things can happen. We will look into it to be in a better shape for the next race weekend in Bahrain.”

Felipe Nasr

“Overall it was a difficult race for us. We struggled with our pace compared to our competitors. It was clear during the race that I could not keep up with the cars in front of me. It was good that we could gain important data from the C35, and we need to analyse every detail to find performance in the car. We have to improve the C35 in different areas. I think we have a lot of work ahead of us.”