Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 2018

22.07.2018 CHARLES LECLERC PUTS ALFA ROMEO SAUBER TEAM INTO Q3 AT HOCKENHEIM

CHARLES LECLERC - ALFA ROMEO SAUBER F1 TEAM - 2018 GERMAN GRAND PRIX, HOCKENHEIM - QUALIFYING SESSION

Charles Leclerc put the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team into the Q3 session during qualifying yesterday at Hockenheim for today’s German Grand Prix for the eighth consecutive race.

 
ANTONIO GIOVINAZZI - ALFA ROMEO SAUBER F1 TEAM - 2018 GERMAN GRAND PRIX, HOCKENHEIM - FREE PRACTICE 1 SESSION

Ferrari junior driver Antonio Giovinazzi took over Marcus Ericsson’s car for the FP1 session on Friday morning and got into the low 1:16s before the Swedish driver resumed his seat for the second session.

Charles Leclerc put the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team into the Q3 session during qualifying yesterday at Hockenheim for today’s German Grand Prix for the eighth consecutive race while Ferrari junior driver Antonio Giovinazzi enjoyed a run out with the team during Friday's FP1.

The weekend for the Alfa Romeo-sponsored team started on Friday and it proved to be a positive day of free practice sessions as Leclerc put the Ferrari-powered Sauber C37 into the top ten on the timesheets in FP1 and FP2.

Giovinazzi took over Ericsson’s car for the first session and got into the low 1:16s before the Swede resumed his seat for the second. The team completed aerodynamic tests during Friday and the drivers used all three tyre compounds.

The weekend continued well for the Swiss team into yesterday’s programme, which saw FP3 followed by Qualifying. Heavy rain spoiled FP3 but Ericsson and Leclerc took the opportunity to test the C37 in wet conditions and ended the session 1-2 on the timesheets.

The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team drivers tackled the qualifying session on the ultrasoft tyre compound and performed strongly, with one car finishing in Q3, as usual Leclerc, who set the ninth fastest time, while Ericsson made it through to Q2 and posted the thirteenth time.

The team said that both drivers reported having a positive feeling in the car and were happy with the balance, as well as its performance on this challenging Hockenheim circuit. After three dry sessions and one wet so far this race weekend, the team is now looking forward to today’s German Grand Prix – knowing that the as yet unknown weather conditions could be an extra variable in determining the outcome of tomorrow´s race.

Marcus Ericsson

C37 (Chassis 03/Ferrari)
Qualifying: 13th in Q2 (1:13.562 min / ultrasoft tyres) / 2nd practice: 14th / 1:14.783 min (38 laps) / 3rd practice: 2nd (1:35.000 min / wet tyres / 9 laps)


“It was a mixed qualifying for me today. The first target was to reach Q2. After that, the potential to improve was still there, but it got a bit messy with my spin. I was able to rejoin and complete another lap but it was not the cleanest one in the end, which is a bit of a shame. We have a good grid position tomorrow, starting just outside of the top ten. Another advantage is that we can choose our tyres. The car feels good overall, and we have strong form. Our aim will be to score points, and I am looking forward to the race.”

Charles Leclerc

C37 (Chassis 02/Ferrari)
Qualifying: 9th in Q3 (1:13.077 min / ultrasoft tyres) / 1st practice: 9th / 1:15.097 min (25 laps) / 2nd practice: 8th / 1:14.374 min (41 laps) / 3rd practice: 1st (1:34.577 min / wet tyres / 8 laps)


“It is great to have finished in P9 – not only for me, but the whole team, as we have achieved another Q3 finish. The day started out being quite tricky, with heavy rain preventing us from running for a large part of FP3. We managed to put everything together in qualifying though. The balance of the car was good, and the new updates we have on the car are working as expected. Hopefully we can continue like this and score some points during the race to make up for what we lost in Silverstone. We have come a long way since the beginning of the season and I Iook forward to building on that tomorrow.”

Antonio Giovinazzi

C37 (Chassis 03/Ferrari)
1st practice: 19th / 1:16.136 min (23 laps)


“It was a positive day, and nice to be back in the car again after a long time. I really enjoyed the practice session. My target was to complete the planned programme and give good feedback to the team. I am really happy with that, and I can’t wait to be back in the car to build on this experience next week.”

Photos: Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team - 2018 FIA F1 World Championship

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Photos: Sauber F1 Team / © 2018 Interfuture Media/Italiaspeed