- Jerez Test - Day Three
Nasr predicts more to come from Sauber
Felipe Nasr thinks Sauber has plenty of performance left in hand on both the engine and chassis side after he recovered from a morning spin to top the third day of testing in Jerez.
Nasr completed an impressive 108 laps on Tuesday though his headline time - set on the soft tyre - was 0.5s off the benchmark set by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel on day two.
When asked if the speed came from the power of Sauber's Ferrari engine or a lack of downforce, Nasr replied: "A bit of both, a bit of both. I think it's clear Ferrari has made a step from last year, and I think a bit on our chassis side as well."
He thinks the headline time is a good base for Sauber to work on because it had something in reserve.
"I wouldn't say they were maximum performance but they were some decent runs on the soft tyres. There's always something to improve and some areas you push on but as I said there's still an area to push on." Last year's Sauber failed to score a point, with one of its biggest weaknesses a lack of stability under braking. But Nasr says his initial impressions were that this is not a characteristic of the C34.
"It feels OK at the moment to be honest. It didn't seem to react strangely in any way."
Nasr triggered a red flag situation early in the test after a spin on a damp track, something the rookie thinks is all part of the steep learning curve of F1.
"It was on the quick left hander. At the exit there was a wet patch and as soon as I touched it I went off. Nothing was compromised, no drama. I think I was the only one to drive on dry tyres at that time. It was purely for myself to get to know myself how much of a crossover you need to go to the slick tyres.
"It's something I have to try now. I don't want to try that in a race so it was the right time to do it and these things can happen. It's good that I can find the limit of what the tyre is able to cope with. It was nothing major, pretty normal. It's better to have an understanding of these situations than not to, or to be surprised in a race weekend. Now I have a better judgement on how to go on those conditions."
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