Monday saw the opening day of testing for the 2017 Formula One World Championship season and it was a productive one for the Sauber F1 Team.
On duty for day one was none other than Marcus Ericsson, who was comfortably behind the wheel of the Sauber C36-Ferrari. His morning mainly comprised of doing aero tests and later on, the focus was on set-up work.
The Swedish racer was able to get a first impression of the new Sauber C36-Ferrari while completing 72 laps overall, and it was a positive one!
“It is great to finally be back in the car again after a long winter,” he said. “The new car was fun to drive, and it is nice to feel that there is more potential. We had some minor issues, but on the other hand it was the first time we were running the car properly.”
“Overall, it has been a productive day. I completed 70 laps overall, which is a good effort for test day one. Now we need to go from here to have a successful first week of testing. The two main areas, which I feel are the biggest differences compared to last year are that the car is faster in high-speed corners and the braking performance is better.”
Fast facts:
Circuit: Circuit de Catalunya / 4.655 km
Driver: Marcus Ericsson
Weather: sunny and dry; air 12° – 20°C, track 13° – 24°C
Chassis / engine: Sauber C36-01 / Ferrari
Laps today: 72 laps, 355.160 km
Fastest lap: 1:26.841 min (P11, medium tyres)
Programme: aero tests, set-up work
What happens on Tuesday: Antonio Giovinazzi will be behind the wheel of the Sauber C36-Ferrari day 2.
