Felipe Nasr says Sauber is going to be more aggressive with the design of its 2016 car to try and stay in the midfield fight.
Sauber endured a dismal 2014 where it failed to score a point, but bounced back with a strong start to 2015 by scoring 19 points in the opening three rounds. The car was largely similar to its predecessor and a lack of development saw the team only pick up 17 points in the remaining 16 races, with Nasr saying the focus will be on a new concept to be more competitive next season.
"I think so far they have been very realistic on the things that we are trying to work on," Nasr said. "All I can say is that the concept looks very different - the car that we had this year and last year, both looked pretty much similar in terms of the concept. But next year we are playing it a little bit more aggressive. We know the areas that we have to improve and we have to give it a try. We need to try something."
Asked if he expects it to be tougher to score points in 2016 with the likes of Manor and McLaren expected to improve, Nasr replied: "It is difficult to say really.
"Everybody is trying to improve, it is not only us. It is not only McLaren and Manor – everybody has things to improve. [Lap times] always come down.
"In winter testing, when you look at the cars and see how they are doing, then we can say what we are going to face in the year and who is going to be closer to you or if you are further ahead. It is difficult to predict before. All I can say is we did sacrifice a little bit this year thinking about next year’s car."
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