From the cockpit: Felipe Nasr on the green grass of home

Now in his second season racing for Sauber, Felipe Nasr will continue to write exclusively for F1i to provide insight in to the life of an F1 driver

The grass is getting greener.

I have been living in England for the best part of the last six years, since my British F3 Championship winning days. Among so many important things that I have learned in that time about motor racing and life here on the British Isles, I also came to know how to admire a well-cared lawn. It takes knowledge, patience, dedication, investment and the right dose of rain (which is not normally a problem in the UK!).

My encouraging showing in the British Grand Prix was certainly the result of the collective work of both the team and drivers in this challenging 2016 lawn of ours. Add to that the news that the light at the end of the tunnel is bright again with the arrival of new backers and it is therefore natural that everyone at Sauber is excited again as we see that there is potential for us returning to a more competitive level.

And then there was the rain (remember from the first paragraph how important it is for the proper lawns) that had us - with a strictly speaking almost 2015 model car - battling head to head with packages that are theoretically much better than our current version. It was a very good part of the race and it is always a great joy to go around the high-speed Silverstone circuit with that kind of performance. Not just for me as the driver but for all of us at Sauber.

Silverstone’s positive performance means we have now come close to scoring points in the last three races and this was only possible because everyone is working hard and confident in the future. We might even have a new aerodynamic package that we plan to use in Hungary or Germany. Together with the new Ferrari engine that we debuted in Silverstone the upgrade might be the perfect combination to get us among the top 10. We have plenty of green thumbs among us for me to make this statement.

I am more than committed, more motivated than I have ever been and positive that I still have a long and nice story to tell in F1. Because just like in a perfect lawn there are no secrets in motor racing that time does not reveal.

Here’s to good sunshine, fair rains and a nice source of fertilisers for all of us! See you back here after the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Felipe

Scene at the British Grand Prix

Silbermann says ... Radio Ga Ga

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