Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsSauber

Nasr expects Monza to suit Sauber

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Felipe Nasr expects the Monza circuit to suit Sauber at the Italian Grand Prix this weekend as he goes in search of his first points since Monaco.

Sauber received an updated Ferrari power unit for the first time at Spa-Francorchamps just over a week ago, with the new engine helping Marcus Ericsson qualify in the top ten and score a point in the race. With Monza requiring a low-downforce set-up, Nasr believes the track characteristics should play in to Sauber's hands.

"I am looking forward to driving the circuit again, and it will be my first time there in a Formula One car," Nasr said. "The high-speed track should suit our car well. We need to find an efficient balance for being fast on the straights and not losing too much time in the corners. A good braking stability, as well as traction for coming out of the chicanes, is important."

And Ericsson admits the upgraded power unit leaves him intrigued about the potential speed the C34 will be able to hit on Monza's long straights.

"The circuit is the fastest on the calendar, and I am curious about the top speed on the straights with the modified engine," Ericsson said. "It is important to have a high straight-line speed, and to be fast through the chicanes. We need to find a compromise with the downforce level giving us a high straight-line speed, but also finding the right set-up for a stable car."

Click here for a look back at the 1971 Italian Grand Prix from Monza, when the top five cars were covered by just 0.61s.

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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.