Sauber is pleased with the work of Robert Schwartzman, who replaced Valtteri Bottas in the first practice session, but overall the drivers of the Swiss team’s main team were in their usual places at the end of Friday, i.e. among the last five.
Valtteri Bottas (18th): “It certainly wasn’t easy to get back behind the wheel after a break of a few weeks and immediately find yourself in such difficult conditions when the storm was raging!
We encountered difficulties in finding the optimal balance, and because the weather and surface conditions changed very quickly, it was difficult to find the right rhythm. Although it is always important to feel comfortable on a circuit, especially on a circuit like Zandvoort.
However, we will still work in the evenings, in addition, we have a third training tomorrow and the task is to achieve more stability – then we will be able to improve.
“We know the car is still not fast enough to be in the top ten, but tomorrow the weather conditions will be difficult again and this can help us, especially if we have a bit of luck. In the meantime, we need to focus our efforts on improving the balance of the chassis as a whole.”
Guanyu Zhou (16th): “It’s great to be back on track, because at a circuit like Zandvoort you’re always full of energy. The training work went well overall. Although the track conditions and strong winds made for considerable challenges, we were still able to carry out both sessions effectively and gather valuable information.
It seems we are not losing that much, but we still need to try to push the pace, especially with a full fuel load. As in previous stages of the season, our chances are better in difficult conditions compared to a situation where the track is completely dry.
With rainy and windy weather expected tomorrow, we can hope to take advantage of this and start from a good position in Sunday’s race.”
Robert Schwartzman (16th in first session): “First of all I would like to thank Sauber and Ferrari for this opportunity. I was greeted very warmly by the team and I also saw some familiar faces; some people I know from my previous job at Ferrari.
It’s been almost a year since I last drove a Formula 1 car; last year it was in Abu Dhabi. I understood that I had to adapt quickly. In addition, Zandvoort can probably be considered one of the most difficult circuits, although it is a pleasure to drive here.
Despite the changeable weather I had to show a good speed right away and overall I can say that I am satisfied with my work. Despite the rain and strong wind the car left a good impression.
Towards the end of the session I got into trouble with traffic which made me lose some time and made it difficult to improve my lap times, although I think that after switching to slicks I could have shown better results if I could have done at least one more lap.
Still, it was a good day, I’m happy with how everything went.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
