Formula 1: Sauber needs a lot of luck in Monaco
In terms of pure speed, the Sauber F1 Team will not be able to fight for championship points in Monaco on Sunday. But this Grand Prix has its own laws. Engine wizard Mario Illien seems to be giving Red Bull wings. Peter Sauber always had a kind of love-hate relationship with Monaco when he was still managing his team himself. In the guardrail channel of the principality [...]
Peter Sauber always had a kind of love-hate relationship with Monaco when he was still managing his team himself. Anything is possible in the guardrail channel of the Principality, from unexpectedly generous points wins like Johnny Herbert and Heinz-Harald Frentzen's 3rd and 4th places in 1996 to a double retirement in promising positions. If Thursday's first qualifying session is any indication, the Hinwil-based team will need more luck than sense to finish in the points. What remains is hope, as expressed by Felipe Nasr: "I had a good race here last year when I finished ninth and scored points. I hope that we will also have a positive weekend in 2016."
Daniel Ricciardo is at the start with more power
Mario Illien is hoping for more from his collaboration with Renault. Over the past few months, his company Ilmor, in collaboration with Renault Sport, has reworked the V6 hybrid engine to such an extent that 35 to 40 hp more is now available. At Red Bull Racing, where this engine is called TAG Heuer, Daniel Ricciardo received the new version. The Australian beat the competition by more than half a second on the first day of practice, although Mercedes has certainly not yet laid all its cards on the table.
Important preliminary decision on Saturday in qualifying
"The race takes place on Saturday in qualifying," Günther Steiner, the boss of HaasF1, said clearly in an interview before the Monaco premiere of the new US racing team. What the South Tyrolean means by this is that nowhere else does grid position matter so much. Qualifying on Saturday at 2 p.m. will therefore already be match-deciding. However, Romain Grosjean, his Swiss driver with a French license, has proven in the past in his races with Lotus that it is still possible to turn things one way or the other. In 2014, the Genevan worked his way up from 14th on the grid to a points-earning 8th place, while last year he started fourth and retired in an accident on the first lap. As mentioned at the beginning: anything is possible in Monaco.
www.grandprixmonaco.com
Photos: Daniel Reinhard/Sauber, Red Bull Content Pool
