No points for Felipe Nasr and Sauber in Sepang
While the Swiss team had brought both its cars into the points in Melbourne, none managed to do so in Malaysia. Felipe Nasr could do no better than 12th, while Marcus Ericsson went off track trying to attack Nico Hülkenberg.
After a Grand Prix beyond expectations in Melbourne, Sauber has slightly fallen back in Malaysia, without scoring any points. Marcus Ericsson, who seemed capable of competing for a top 10, made a mistake at the very start of the race while Felipe Nasr finished 12th at the end of a GP compromised by a collision with Räikkönen on the first lap.
The Swedish driver’s off-track excursion had a significant impact on the race as it triggered the deployment of the safety car, leading to different strategies among the leaders. During his maneuver, the young driver displayed an excess of optimism that backfired on him: « Nico must have had a good start since he ended up in front of me, but I felt I was faster than him. When I tried to overtake him in Turn 1, I went to the outside. I know it’s possible to overtake there, but unfortunately, I lost the rear, slid, and got stuck in the gravel. »
As for Felipe Nasr, his race was largely compromised by his collision on the second lap with Kimi Räikkönen’s Ferrari. This forced him to pit prematurely to change the front wing: « The race was not easy since I touched Kimi very early. I should have avoided this accident but these are the kinds of things that happen when you’re racing. »
Monisha Kaltenborn, the team principal, could only lament the racing incidents involving her two drivers: « It’s really unfortunate that we didn’t manage to score points because the opportunity was definitely there. Unfortunately, both our drivers were involved in incidents in the early laps. For Marcus, the race was over, and Felipe’s chances were greatly compromised. »
