Back in business
Weather: FP1: wet, then overcast, 17-19°C air, 23-23°C track; FP2: overcast, 19-22°C air, 29-33°C track
215 days since we last saw our team in action during a competitive race weekend session, Formula One is finally back. At 11:01:49am this morning, Antonio Giovinazzi drove his Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN C39 out of the garage and into the Spielberg pitlane, followed by Kimi Räikkönen a few moments later, marking the end of this seven-months wait and kick-starting the 2020 season for the team.
All of a sudden, it felt like the break never happened. Muscle memory kicked in; the voices on the radio sounded familiar; we were back, we were racing.
Free Practice won’t ever give us a clear indication on what awaits us in the first of these two Austrian races. For that, we will need to wait a little longer. For now, let’s just enjoy this feeling. We are back, and we are back racing.
Kimi Räikkönen (car number 7):
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN C39 (Chassis 02/Ferrari)
1st practice: 15th / 1:06.365 (28 laps) / 2nd practice: 19th / 1:06.278 (44 laps)
“Getting back in the car didn’t feel too strange, it was a fairly normal Friday. We were trying things in the car, figuring out what works well and what doesn’t to develop the best setup for the rest of the weekend. In the end it wasn’t the easiest day, I had a little off but it didn’t cost me much time; and we have something to work with for tomorrow. It’s way too early to say where we stand today, we will need to wait until the end of qualifying to have a clearer picture.”
Antonio Giovinazzi (car number 99):
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN C39 (Chassis 04/Ferrari)
1st practice: 14th / 1.06.360 (24 laps) / 2nd practice: 14th / 1:05.608 (49 laps)
“It was really nice to be back in the car after this long break. I spent a lot of time in the simulator, but nothing matches the feeling of being in the real car. The day was quite positive and we managed to do all the tests we wanted today; of course, we are still missing something compared to the top ten but we will work hard tonight to bridge that gap. As always, it will be a matter of putting everything together, especially in qualifying. We are here to give our best, to try to get a good result and score points.”
The Sauber Group of Companies is composed of three operational entities: Sauber Motorsport AG, which operates and manages the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN Formula One team; Sauber Engineering AG, which focuses on prototype development and additive manufacturing; and Sauber Aerodynamik AG, which conducts full and model-scale testing in the factory’s state-of-the-art wind tunnel and creates ground-breaking innovations in the field of aerodynamics. The companies collaborate closely and share know-how to apply the expertise of more than 500 dedicated individuals at the headquarter in Hinwil, Switzerland, to all internal and external projects. Since its founding in 1970, the passion for racing has been at the heart of Sauber.
For the last 50 years, the innovative Swiss company has been setting standards in the design, development and construction of race cars for various championship series, such as Formula One, DTM, and WEC. Following its own Formula One debut in 1993, Sauber Motorsport AG has established one of the few traditional and privately held teams in the sport. After 25 years of competition in Formula One, the company launched a long-term partnership with Alfa Romeo in 2018 and enters the 2020 championship under the new team name Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN.
Sauber Motorsport AG
Wildbachstrasse 9
CH8340 Hinwil
Telefon: +41 (44) 93790-00
Telefax: +41 (44) 93790-01
http://www.sauberf1team.com
Senior Communications Manager
E-Mail: william.ponissi@sauber-group.com
Communications Manager
Telefon: +41 (79) 75752-85
E-Mail: katharina.rees@sauber-group.com
