New Sauber F1 car will be "very different"

The Swiss squad finished 2015 in eighth position in the constructors' championship with 36 points, one year on after failing to score a single point in its worst season to date.

Despite improving this year, the Hinwil-based outfit could not match the development rate of its rivals due to its finances, something Nasr admits has held Sauber back.

That is why the Brazilian reckons it is important for the team to try something more radical for 2016.

"So far they have been very realistic on the things we are trying to work on and all I can say is the concept looks very different on the car," said Nasr of next year.

"This year's and last year's car look similar on the concept side, but next year we are playing a little bit more aggressive.

"We know the areas we have to improve and we have to give it a try. We need to try something.

"If we kept on developing the car we have now, there's little steps we can make. That's why we are taking this different approach for 2016."

Nasr remains optimistic Sauber can take a significant step forward next year.

"I think I expect a step forward. We all understand where the car needs to be improved, we know the areas we have to work on, but it's difficult to turn things upside down and suddenly have a winning car.

"This is not going to happen. I'm confident we are going to make a decent step."

Despite the lack of development compared to its rivals, the Brazilian believes the 2015 season was very positive for Sauber.

"Considering the equipment we had and the conditions we had as a team, I think we had a very positive year. If you look at last year, the team didn't score any points and this year we were able to score in total 36 points.

"As I said, considering the limitations we had with development - I think we are one of the teams with the smallest budget - then I think we've done pretty good."