Smith pushing aggressive Sauber approach - Nasr

Felipe Nasr says new technical director Mark Smith is the driving force behind Sauber's aggressive approach for 2016.

Smith joined Sauber in July of last year as the team added a technical director following three years without one since James Key's departure. With experience from Jordan, Red Bull, Force India and Caterham, Smith was brought in to be a figurehead for the technical team at Sauber.

Asked if Smith is one of the people pushing to be more aggressive with Sauber's 2016 car design, Nasr replied: "Yes, he was the guy - I think straight away, he wanted to apply this approach.

"We drivers and as a team, we all gave the feedback where the car had to be improved and I think he has given a lot of directions where to follow with the car development.

"This concept is something, I would say if you look at the other cars, a lot of people have different concepts, but if we kept developing the one we have now, it is little steps that we can do, that is why we are taking this different approach for 2016."

Key dates for the 2016 F1 season

Playing the joker: Sebastian Vettel

Technical feature: All of the 2015 F1 steering wheels

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

2015 F1 technical review

Best of ... Scene at

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

Monaco GP: Saturday's action in pictures

Saturday's qualifying at the Monaco GP will go down as one of the most tense…

16 minutes ago

Monaco GP: Sensational Antonelli seizes pole with all-out lap

Kimi Antonelli delivered a sensational late lap to secure pole position for the 2026 Monaco…

1 hour ago

Monaco Grand Prix - Qualifying results

Full results from qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo, round 6 of…

2 hours ago

De la Rosa: Still 'no light at the end of the tunnel' for Aston Martin

Aston Martin’s painful descent to the back of the Formula 1 grid shows no sign…

4 hours ago

Monaco GP: Antonelli edges Ferrari drivers in red-flagged FP3

F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli topped a chaotic final practice session for the 2026 Monaco…

5 hours ago

Monaco Grand Prix Free Practice 3 - Results

Full results from Free Practice 3 for the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo, round…

5 hours ago