Felipe Nasr: “The Sauber C35 was born well, but we will only discover it fully in Melbourne”

BARCELONA – On the third day of tests 2 on the Circuit de Catalunya, we reached the Sauber hospitality, where one of the official drivers of the Swiss team, Felipe Nasr, was waiting for us.

ADM: Hi Felipe, how's the new C35?

FN: We finally got to try it on the track as well as on the simulator! In this second test session we are trying to discover its strengths and weaknesses after in the first we were only able to test some components on the old C34.

ADM: Have you developed a particular testing program for just these four weaning days before Melbourne?

FN: “As mentioned, time was short but we can say we are satisfied with what we did this week: in general the car is going well, it seems more balanced than the previous one but we probably haven't yet found the increase in downforce we were hoping for.

Obviously there are still some aspects to clarify, but I am confident that a Melbourne we can be quite competitive.”

ADM: Speaking of Melbourne, last year you had an excellent start to the season, only to lose competitiveness during the season due to little investment in upgrades. Should we expect a similar script for 2016?

FN: “Yes unfortunately. Our financial situation does not allow us to develop the car throughout the season, so it is inevitable that we will lose ground to other teams as the races progress. This year too we will have to be good at taking advantage of every opportunity we have to score points from the first race.”

ADM: The crisis in the oil sector was the cause of the loss of important sponsorships for Pastor Maldonado, so much so that he lost his job at Renault: are you worried about what is happening to global banks, given that one of your major financiers is Banco do Brasil ?

FN: I don't have any information about any crises in my partners. We have a plan to be in Formula 1 and everything is going as planned, so I have no reason to be worried.

ADM: In the current Formula 1 there are only two Brazilian drivers: Felipe Massa now has several seasons behind him and is approaching retirement, while you will soon represent the only point of reference for your nation. Do you foresee that among the young drivers of your compatriots, there is someone who could land in the top formula in the future?

UN: In Brazil a support program has been launched for young athletes and obviously among these there are also pilots: our country has always been very rich in tradition and love for motorsport and yes, there are good prospects in the minor formulas, but it will still take some time to see some emerge in the Circus.

We want to thank you Felipe Nasr and Sauber team for the availability shown.

Text and Photos by Alessio De Marco

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