Monza will be 'special home race' for Alfa Romeo Sauber

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The Sauber team is looking forward to getting a boost from its new 'home' race this weekend as it heads to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix.

Although the team itself is based in Switzerland, this week's race will be the closest it has to a home event in 2018 following its new tie-up with Alfa Romeo over the winter.

"It will be an important race for our team because it is our title sponsor’s home race," noted Marcus Ericsson.

"The race in Monza is always a very special one, and one of the most historic Grands Prix on the calendar.

"The track itself is different from most of the others, with the low downforce levels making it tricky but fun to drive," he added. "There are good opportunities for overtaking, which is quite a different challenge to most other races of the year.

"I look forward to meeting many Alfa Romeo fans throughout the weekend, and we will do everything we can to give them a good show.”

Sauber targeting top midfield spot in 2019 'not unrealistic' - Ericsson

His team mate Charles Leclerc will be looking forward to bouncing back from an early end to his race on Sunday where he was innocent victim of a McLaren flying through the air at La Source, coming perilously close to his head.

"It is good to be back on track straight after Spa, as we can move on from the retirement in the last race and look forward to racing again.

"It will be like a home race for us," the Monegasque driver added. "Monza is going to be a special destination for the whole team as ambassadors of the iconic Italian brand, Alfa Romeo.

"It is also special for me to race in Italy, as I have always had close ties to the country – first racing in karts there during my childhood, and later being part of the Ferrari Driver Academy.

"I can’t wait to be there and meet all the Italian fans."

Sauber will also be out in force in Milan on Wednesday to present its driver line-up for this year's F1 eSports tournament.

Verstappen sees useful F1 role for eSports sim racers

Partnering with leading organisation Veloce Esports for this year's competition, Sauber has selected two brothers to represent them.

Salih and Sonuç Saltunç are the only brothers taking part in this year’s competition, where they will be joined by Dutch racer Allert van der Wal. All three made it through to the finals in 2017 in Abu Dhabi.

"Sauber has a proud history of helping young drivers become champions," said Frédéric Vasseur, Sauber's CEO and team principal.

"We are continuing this tradition in the most modern way with the launch of our new eSports team," he added. "We are excited to bring over 40 years of expertise in racing to a new generation of motorsport."

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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.