Sauber confident it's on top of problems
Date published : 19 Mar 2010 - 12:11:25
Sauber is fully expecting its C29 to perform much better at Albert Park next weekend following the team's surprisingly uncompetitive showing at the first race.The Swiss outfit was touted by many observers as a dark house for Bahrain with its new car having looked strong over long runs and, crucially, appeared easier on its tyres than most other teams in testing.However, its drivers struggled over the bumps in the new long in-field section of the lap at Sakhir, with neither able to make Q3 in qualifying before both were forced out early in the race by hydraulic leaks.Having spent recent days getting to the bottom of both the pace and reliability problems, technical director Willy Rampf is confident a drastic improvement is on the cards for Australia. After our disappointing performance in Bahrain we have to make up for a lot in Australia, said Rampf, ahead of his last race at the team before former Force India man James Key takes over on April 1. We have analysed the data and drawn conclusions accordingly. I expect us to be significantly more competitive in Melbourne. The failures were caused by hydraulic leaks in both cases, but for different reasons. For both problems we will have solutions ready for the race.Veteran driver Pedro de la Rosa admits he can't wait to banish the memories of the season-opener, the Spaniard having been forced to pull into the garage with 21 laps still to go in his first race for over three years.He shares Rampf's optimism for a much better performance in round two, adding that despite the double Sakhir retirement he is confident the C29 doesn't have any underlying reliability problems.I'm very much looking forward to this Grand Prix, he said.I really want our performance in Bahrain to be forgotten. I believe we will be more competitive in Melbourne. Reliability was never an issue in testing, and it was very unlucky that we retired with both cars in Bahrain and with two different reasons as well.It will not be easy for us in Australia and we need to work hard to be able to fight for pointsHaving not competed as a race driver at Albert Park for eight years, de la Rosa concedes it will take him time to get used to the parkland circuit again.Also it is one of my favourite Grands Prix because of the great atmosphere there. My last race there was in 2002. In 2005 I drove in Friday practice, he added.This means I definitely have some memories of the track, but it will be like learning a new one for me.The high-speed 3.295-mile layout will be a completely new experience for team-mate Kamui Kobayashi but the Toyota-backed rookie revealed he used his old team's simulator to familiarise himself with the circuit earlier this week.For sure I hope we will be more competitive in Melbourne than we were in Bahrain we just have to be, Kobayashi said.I only know the track from the Toyota simulator which I have been in after the race in Bahrain. I like the lay-out of the Albert Park circuit, and I also like Melbourne as a place. I have been there twice as a reserve driver. The city is great and the spectators are true fans, so I can't wait to race in front of that crowd.Meanwhile, Rampf added that he was keen to see how Bridgestone's decision to bring a more conservative range of tyres to this year's Melbourne event (soft and hard compounds) would impact on set-up direction after the super-soft used last year degraded rapidly in the race.I'm curious about how the tyres will be working, he mused.Last year the softer of the two compounds was degrading badly after just a few laps. This time Bridgestone is providing us with a harder compound, which naturally has an impact on the set-up.
