Sauber had a trouble free first day ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix

Hard tyres, soft tyres, heavy car, lighter car - the Sauber F1 Team used its full armory in order to evaluate the new parts of the Sauber C31-Ferrari.

The new components include a front wing which completes the aero package the team introduced at the recent race in Singapore. The team had a trouble free first day ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

On the time sheets Sergio Pérez came 12th in both the 90-minutes sessions. Kamui Kobayashi, who is driving with a special helmet design dedicated to his home country, came sixth and 13th at the challenging Suzuka circuit.

Sergio Perez, Sauber

Photo by: xpb.cc

Sergio Pérez: “It has been a good first day in terms of getting all the work done. But we have to improve our speed and I think we can do this. I also ran wide on my fastest lap, so I know there is more to come and we will be in a better shape tomorrow.“

Sauber C31-Ferrari (Chassis 03/Ferrari 056) 1st Practice: 12th / 1:35.584 min (24 laps) / 2nd Practice: 12th / 1:33.903 min (36 laps).

Kamui Kobayashi: “It is a fantastic feeling to drive here in Suzuka again after one year. It is such a great circuit, and every single lap is exciting. We have a couple of updates to the car and today’s job is to fully understand how the new parts work.

The lap times seem to be pretty close here, which means it is too early to judge on the performance, but I feel we can improve the balance and the set up.“

Sauber C31-Ferrari (Chassis 04/Ferrari 056) 1st Practice: 6th / 1:35.199 min (27 laps) / 2nd Practice: 13th / 1:33.983 min (33 laps).

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering: “It was good to have a trouble free day and to complete the entire programme in relation to the new parts. We had no hic ups or reliability issues. However, there is still a lot to learn and we will be evaluating the data now.”

Source: Sauber F1 Team