Sauber being more aggressive with 2016 car

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."

2015 F1 season: F1i’s teams review

2015 F1 season: F1i's rookie review

Use the red tabs on either side of the screen to scroll through more Formula One news and features

Click here for a gallery of the McLaren MP4-X

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

Sebastian Montoya steps up to Formula 2 with Prema

Sebastian Montoya, the 19-year-old son of former Formula 1 star Juan Pablo Montoya, is set…

7 hours ago

Sauber finds its ‘Northern Star’ under Binotto’s leadership

When former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto took on the role of Chief Operating Officer…

8 hours ago

Leclerc hails a season ‘without missed opportunities' in 2024

Charles Leclerc concluded the 2024 F1 season with a sense of satisfaction, the Ferrari driver…

10 hours ago

Coulthard sounds alarm over FIA president’s rift with F1 drivers

Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has voiced his dismay at FIA president Mohammed Ben…

12 hours ago

The rapid rise and fall of Super Aguri in F1

Super Aguri's application to join Formula 1 became a reality on this day in 2005,…

13 hours ago

Ferrari's 2024 Season: Marked improvement and a fight to the finish

Ferrari roared back into contention in 2024 to deliver their strongest season in years, thanks…

14 hours ago