Sauber relishing Silverstone test
This weekend sees the British Grand Prix return to Silverstone.
After all the talk in recent years of a move away from the prestigous track, the FIA were pleased to announce that the Northamptonshire track has been revitalised and is now a new look circuit with the Abbey and Luffield corners an almost 800 metres long arena-like section has been added, but famous corners like Maggotts or Becketts, Copse or Stowe, remained untouched.
It seems that BMW Sauber are looking forward to the new look track and will be hoping to press on from Valencia where the team had their best performance of the season so far.
Pedro De La Rosa was unfortunate to miss out on points after having his one point taken off him for passing the safety car and receiving a time deduction.
He is very excited for this weekend’s challenge and has said;
“We are all going to a new Silverstone and have to be open minded. The changes to the track look very nice and I expect its character, with plenty of medium and high speed corners, has remained unchanged, and this should suit our car more than the Valencia circuit did. I’m very much looking forward to the British Grand Prix.”
Technical director James Key is also looking forward to seeing how the new track shapes out;
“It’s a nice feeling to go back to Silverstone. It’s a circuit I know well, and I’ve always enjoyed being at the track. There’s an excellent turnout from the fans as well, so it’s got a real atmosphere about it. It’s obviously different this year, as several of the old corners we know have gone. However, it will be new for everyone. I’m looking forward to see how the new section affects the track. It was never a circuit that was easy to overtake on. It could be that the new section has some influence on that, but we won’t know until we get there. We’ve been working on what we think we need to do for the new layout.”
This season has been very hard for a new driver, and with the new teams such as Virgin Racing, Hispania Racing and Lotus all struggling to find their feet Kumui Kobayashi has been one that hasn’t really lived up to expectations.
After finishing the season in place of Timo Glock at Toyota, Sauber had high hopes for the young Japanese driver, but at times this season his aggressive driving style has let the team down.
Valencia though could have been the turning point for the 23 year old has finished 3 of his last 5 drives and this shows a team improvement as well as a personal improvement. After finishing 7th at the European GP, Kobayashi will be hoping for a better qualifying weekend to help him push for more points.
The high speed corners and aggressive style this track asks for gives Kobayashi hope for the weekend;
“I have a very good feeling for the race in Silverstone. I like this track a lot and I’m looking forward to seeing the new parts. The high speed corners make it one of my favourite circuits. Also there is always a good crowd, and I think this time with their fellow countrymen leading the championship they will be very excited. I like going to England, and London is a great city anyway.”
Team Prediction:
After much improvement at Valencia, the team seem to have fixed some of the early season mistakes, this can only get better for the team.
De La Rosa is steady and will be raring to go after losing the point from the last race, and team-mate Kobayashi will enjoy the speedy circuit.
As long as both drivers push forward in Q2 they can both get near the points.
De La Rosa – 9th
Kobayashi – 10th
The overall race will be an exciting one, with McLaren’s British pair in great form of late and coming into their home GP it will be surprising if neither get a front row start.
The Red Bulls are desperate to get both cars home and with McLaren taking the lead in both drivers’ and constructors’ championships the team will be for better luck this time round.
My heart says Vettel will be in a British sandwich but my head thinks the Red Bulls will come out on top.
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