Sauber is planning an "intense programme" during the post-race test in Barcelona next week to defend its position in the constructors' championship.

Following the Spanish Grand Prix, the teams will remain at the Circuit de Catalunya to carry out two days of testing. While Felipe Nasr says he is concerned Sauber will be left behind by its rivals when it comes to development, head of track engineering Giampaolo Dall'Ara says the test will see the team working hard to improve the car.

“After an encouraging pre-season campaign at the Circuit de Catalunya, we head back there with some solid race achievements and aerodynamic upgrades," Dall'Ara said. "The first European race is known for a number of teams introducing improvements to their cars, therefore it will be important for us to keep up momentum and fight for points.

"We are aware that the conditions will be fairly different to how they were two months ago, and, therefore, some set-up adjustments will be needed to get the medium and hard tyres to work at their best in warmer temperatures.

"After the race, the team will stay in Spain for the first two days of in-season testing, when Marcus [Ericsson] and Raffaele [Marciello] will work through an intense programme mainly featuring aerodynamics, the braking system and the rear suspension.”

Click here for a look at the radical Honda power unit design

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Senna and Penske, a near match made in heaven

On this day in 1992, Ayrton Senna enjoyed a secret track day with Team Penske…

7 mins ago

F1i's 2025 Driver Rankings: The grid's top 10 best performers

  In 2025, we saw a defiant masterclass from a driver in an erratic Red…

1 hour ago

Williams goes with the 'flow' for 2026 pre-season look

The fans have spoken! Williams has unveiled testing livery chosen by its supporters for its…

2 hours ago

Verstappen slams Red Bull for ruthless Lawson decision

Max Verstappen has reopened one of Red Bull’s most uncomfortable debates of the 2025 Formula…

3 hours ago

F1 bracing for 2026 engine controversy over ‘thermal loophole’

Formula 1 is bracing for its first major political firestorm of the 2026 era, with…

4 hours ago

Vasseur calls for ‘better job everywhere’ to save Hamilton era

Ferrari are bracing for a searching winter of self-examination as Fred Vasseur made it clear…

6 hours ago