The two Sauber finish in the points in Shanghai
By both making it to Q3, Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson hoped to score points. Mission accomplished as the Brazilian finished 8th while his teammate completed the top 10.
However, the two drivers did not have an uneventful race as the competition was very close throughout the race. The engineers decided not to follow the same strategy for their two drivers mid-race, as Giampaolo Dall’Ara, the head of engineering for the Swiss team, stated: “We wanted to have both cars in the points and we succeeded. The race was not easy. The tire strategy was open until the end. That’s why we decided to have two different strategies for the second stint. The drivers drove very well and maximized the result. It feels good for the whole team to be back in the points with both cars.”
Felipe Nasr was keen to capitalize on his 9th place in qualifying to further increase his points tally. He ultimately gained one position from his spot on the grid, thanks to Max Verstappen’s late retirement: « It was a great day for the team as both cars scored points. I’m delighted for everyone. It wasn’t an easy race for us. We battled with Lotus and Toro Rosso, and they seemed faster than us. As for me, I got the maximum out of the car and the strategy. We can therefore be satisfied with this result. »
His teammate also benefited from the retirement of the young Toro Rosso driver to score points, as he had done in Australia. This now allows the team to have 19 points in the Constructors’ Championship, placing them in a very good fourth position.
