Sauber driver Felipe Nasr hopes he can start this weekend’ Spanish Grand Prix from a “satisfying” grid position, with overtaking generally difficult at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The Brazilian has reached Q2 only once this year and seen team-mate Marcus Ericsson outqualify him 3-1 so far, though a floor change last time out in Russia seemed to have paid dividends.

With the start of the European leg of the season just around the corner, Nasr looks to unlock more speed on Saturday afternoon in a bid to get closer to the points-paying positions during the race.

“The Spanish Grand Prix is one milestone in the Formula One calendar,” he said. “In general we and the other teams have a lot of data from the track in Barcelona, as we ran most of our test kilometres there.

“For the race weekend it will be important to achieve a satisfying qualifying position, because overtaking is, in general, difficult on this circuit.”

Sauber has experienced a challenging start to its 2016 F1 campaign amid financial troubles and lack of upgrades to the C35. Although the Swiss outfit will miss next week’s post-Spanish GP F1 test, it will at least run Ferrari’s latest power unit specification during the Barcelona race weekend.

Ericsson hopes this can mark the first step in his team’s return to form.

“We all know the track very well from winter testing,” the Swede said. “It will be interesting to see how the C35 behaves in warmer conditions compared to the colder ones during testing in February. I am looking forward to racing there and hope we can make another step in the right direction.”

Silbermann says... Too many angry Bulls in Spain

Technical focus: Halo or Aeroscreen?

Exclusive Jenson Button Q&A

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Julien Billiotte

Recent Posts

Alpine double-podium in Brazil could deliver $30 million windfall

Alpine’s remarkable double podium at the São Paulo Grand Prix with Esteban Ocon and Pierre…

14 hours ago

F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2024 São Paulo GP

Alexander Albon, Williams (Did Not Start): 5.5/10 Alex Albon is definitely going through something of…

16 hours ago

Jos Verstappen rips British media after Brazilian Max fest

Jos Verstappen wasted no time after his son spectacular win at the São Paulo Grand…

17 hours ago

Leclerc left with ‘mixed feelings’ after disappointing Sao Paulo GP

Charles Leclerc's weekend in Sao Paulo was unfortunately a stark contrast to Ferrari's recent triumphs…

19 hours ago

Back when Kimi knew exactly what he was doing

Twelve years ago on this day, Kimi Raikkonen took a popular win at the 2012…

20 hours ago

Mercedes fined for starting grid tyre pressure infringement

The Mercedes team was hit with a fine by the FIA after Sunday’s Sao Paulo…

21 hours ago