Sauber got a taste of the supersoft tyres on free practice in Monte Carlo

While the first practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix took place in dry conditions, the second session was mainly wet. It was only during the last ten minutes that the drivers were able to go out on slick tyres, just to get a feeling for the supersoft tyres. Due to these conditions, the Sauber F1 Team engineers were not able to complete the planned programme, but were still able to make a little progress.

Esteban Gutiérrez (FP1: 12th, 1:20.118 min, 33 laps / FP2: 15th, 1:21.467 min, 8 laps): “Overall it was a good day. We lost valuable time in FP2 due to the weather conditions. During the session in the morning we made some changes to the car and it was getting better. We were able to improve lap by lap. I think we worked in the right direction. In FP2 I could only run for a few laps, so it is not representative due to the conditions and the traffic on track. We will analyse what we were able to gather during FP1 and FP2 and put everything together for tomorrow.”

Adrian Sutil FP1: 17th, 1:20.736 min, 18 laps / FP2: 13th, 1:20.811 min, 8 laps): “At the end of FP2, we were able to run a few laps on supersoft tyres, which worked out well. The car’s balance is decent. In general, we still have issues which we need to solve. The driveability needs to be improved. During acceleration and braking it is still difficult to keep the car under control. In FP1 I had a snap oversteer in turn 5, so I touched the barrier. The tyres were not up to temperature and it was difficult to keep the car under control. However, it was my mistake.”

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering: “Overall, the morning session was quite positive. We were able to work through our planned programme and to make a little progress. Adrian made a contact with the wall, but fortunately there was not much damage. The second session was heavily influenced by the weather. Adrian just made a run on intermediate tyres to check everything and make sure the car was fine. And then, towards the end, we at least got a taste of the supersoft tyres.”

Sauber F1 Team