Sunday: Risky strategy and no points for Gutierrez and Sutil at Sauber F1
Gutierrez and Sutil finished far from the points. The Swiss team had decided to start on medium tires to take advantage of a potential safety car intervention. The gamble was lost.
Adrian Sutil (No. 99) – 16th
The German complained of a lack of grip in this first stint. He had fitted medium tires at the start of the race in anticipation of a safety car. This gave an advantage to the other drivers who were on soft tires.
He talks about the follow-up: « We therefore decided to pit quite early to switch to soft tires. Then, I was able to continue the race without any major incident, even though the grip level was decreasing towards the end. We knew it was a risky strategy to start on medium tires in the absence of a safety car period. In the end, the safety car did not come out. »
Esteban Gutiérrez (#21) – 15th
The Mexican was relatively frustrated to finish in 15th place after a race that went quite well for the Swiss team: « It was a clean race with an interesting first part. We had bet on a safety car period during the first stint, and that’s why we extended this run. It wasn’t ideal from a strategic point of view, but we took that risk hoping to benefit from it. In the end, the safety car didn’t come out. »
