Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsSauber

New Sauber concept for 2016 ‘very promising’

Monisha Kaltenborn says Sauber’s new aerodynamic concept has proven to be “very promising” for the future after its introduction in Singapore.

Sauber brought a new aerodynamic package to Singapore in September after limited development this season, with the team confident in the results the update delivered. Kaltenborn says the main focus has been on validating a new concept rather than seeing an instant step forward in performance and the Sauber team principal believes it bodes well for next season.

“We are looking to make a decent step [in 2016] I would say,” Kaltenborn told F1i. “We are expecting again something more from the powertrain.

“We have introduced this new concept with the package we have and more important on that package was not really the amount of downforce or points - of course you are trying to get the most - but more important was to see if the concept we are going in is the right way because we see a lot of potential in that. That proved to be the right one, which is very promising.”

While keen to finish the season on a high, Kaltenborn admits next weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix could be a struggle for the team.

“Abu Dhabi I would think [will suit the car] more. Brazil I am a bit careful because it is a bit more bumpy and we have had a few issues with them as one as seen. But, no, it’s something which is a challenge we have to make up, it’s no reason to give up straight away and you never know what can happen. One thing which has really spoken for us always is reliability and that’s what I think has been a strength for us this year.”

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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.