After a solid Friday, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team continued to work in preparation for the race in FP3 with good results, and Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc headed into the qualifying sessions feeling very motivated.
It's been a tricky day in terms of where we are on the time sheets. There is a lot to improve on, that's for sure. The car feels better than last year, but its’s still not where we want to be. Melbourne was a little bit better on Friday than the Friday we have experienced here in Bahrain, but it is another day tomorrow.
It was a good start to the weekend for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team at the Bahrain International Circuit. Marcus Ericsson focussed on mechanical work during FP1 while Charles Leclerc completed aerodynamic testing. During FP2, both drivers completed short-runs in preparation for tomorrow’s qualifying. At the end of session the drivers completed a practice of red flag procedures.
Daniel Juncadella has had an eventful few days: while putting the finishing touches to his physical fitness for the start of the season, he came off his bike and had to have an emergency operation. He tells us what happened and whether he expects to be fit for the tests at Hockenheim.
Marcus Ericsson knows the track very well and he is confident for the race weekend. Charles Leclerc knows the circuit from competing there in Formula 2 and he has good memories on this track as last year he disputed one of the best races.
Bahrain is a track I have some nice memories from, it was where we clinched our first world title back in 2015 with Mark Webber and Timo Bernhard in the Porsche LMP1 team
Jörg Zander, Technical Director:
“I’m very much looking forward to the arrival of Jan Monchaux as the new Head of Aerodynamics. It marks an important step of a wider project that aims at strengthening and implementing the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team in line with the targets and the results we want to achieve on tracks”.
En plus de pouvoir se tenir debout à côté d’un pilote de F1, chaque participant recevra une combinaison spéciale et deux (2) billets gratuits additionnels pour leurs parents/tuteurs.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas is pleased to announce a new agreement with Thomas Cook Sport, the UK’s leading sports travel operator, which will offer Formula One fans around the world the chance to experience a unique concept at four Grands Prix this season.
A win with two cars on the podium is a very good start of the season for the team. Maybe I have been a bit unlucky today, but at least the luck came to our team. Third place it’s not exactly the result we wanted, but it’s only the first race and the big picture is not too bad. So I happily take the third place. Overall I was pretty happy with my car today, the speed was there all day. It’s nice to have a good feeling. For sure there are things to improve, but if the feeling stays like this we’ll have all the tools to fight. And this is the most important thing. This is a quite special track in many ways, so let’s see what happens in the next race. Bahrain it’s not very straightforward either; from year to year we have seen that the hot conditions don’t give a 100 percent true picture. We need to be patient and do our best wherever we go.
The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team showed progress throughout the weekend with the race looking promising as Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc lapped with good pace. Ericsson made a good start and had already gained one position to 16th when he had to retire on lap six due to a hydraulic issue on his car, which is now undergoing further investigation. On the other side of the garage, debut Formula 1 racer Charles Leclerc had a strong race during which he put in a consistent performance that enabled him to finish 13th. The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team leaves Australia feeling positive and heading to Bahrain with confidence for the second round of the FIA Formula 1 Championship.
Williams Lance Stroll finished 14th in the Australian Grand Prix, with Sergey Sirotkin retiring on his Formula One race debut Both cars started on the supersoft Pirelli tyre, with Lance starting in 13th and Sergey 19th Lance lost a place to the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas early on whilst Sergey retired on lap four with a rear brake failure.