Wehrlein says Sauber car limited his performance
- Published on 10 Dec 2017 14:12
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Pascal Wehrlein says that the poor pace of the 2017 Sauber car prevented him from showcasing his talent. The Sauber C36 was the slowest car in the pack, finishing the year tenth in the constructor's standings.
The car was running with a 2016 Ferrari power unit, but it will return to up-to-date engines next season, alongside a sponsorship deal with Alfa Romeo. However, Wehrlein will not be part of the journey as he was dropped by the team in favour of Ferrari junior Charles Leclerc.
"I was always giving my best," Wehrlein said. "I think that's the most important thing you can say about yourself. When the opportunity was there we took it.
"You can always do things better. With more experience you think, 'Ahh, one or two races ago I was doing this direction with the set-up. Now I know this was worse, I should have gone in this direction'. You always learn something. But I can definitely say I was always giving my best."
Wehrlein's best finish throughout the season was an eighth place at the Spanish Grand Prix. He picked up another point at Azerbaijan, but stated that he could have achieved much more for the team if the car was more competitive.
"In the second half the gap was a few times too big," he said. "Even if we had a good race in the second half of the season, you couldn't see it as the gap was too big. For example at Suzuka I was lapped by the second last guy. What can you do there?"
"We scored five points when we could score points, that's important. But probably in the second half of the season I had better races but you couldn't see it. Malaysia was one of them, we were close to Q2 and the race was quite good. [Brazil] was quite good in terms of performance. There we were not so far from Q2 I think, just one or two tenths."
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (11)
Login to replyf1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
I'm sad to see him leave.. Maybe he will return one day
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
Limited your performance?! Bitch please...
By all accounts it's a matter of Wehrlein being overrated, and Ericsson being underrated. I wouldn't have minded if he'd stayed, but I won't miss him either.
denis1304
Posts: 284
Wehrlein had 5 points
Ericsson had 0 points
Stallion please...
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
So?
That is cherry picking of the worst kind. Look at all the stats, and you'll get a much more nuanched picture.
denis1304
Posts: 284
Qualifying
Wehrlein 13 - 7 Ericsson
and Wehrlein missed first 2 races...
Which other stat should we look at?
Orchide
Posts: 82
What about 0.05s average diff in qualifying.
ERI > 5-10kg ~ 0.3s each lap.
That doesn't mean ERI should have been quicker than WEH but it would have been interesting to see them fight with the same conditions.
I actually thought it was 11-7? WEH didn't start the first 2 races.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
There is no debate that Wehrlein was the better driver. The disappointment was in the fact that it was not more decisive, and there were not outstanding drives. Most people would agree that Ericsson is the weakest driver on the grid. I do, however, tend to agree with Wehrlein. I remember when Ricciardo raced for HRT, suddenly he didn't look as hot, but the car was so bad...
Orchide
Posts: 82
If you think Ericsson is the weakest driver on the grid then Wehrlein is just as bad, they were more or less even.
Rindtchamp
Posts: 304
A talented guy but his bad attitude cost him more than any lack of speed.
boudy
Posts: 1,168
Normally there is a correlation between quality of car and the driver. When the driver shows he's out driving the car he gets a better drive. You can fill in what type he is by the fact of him getting a better drive.
Barron
Posts: 625
Sauber says “Wehrlein limited the cars performance”. Joking aside, I had time for the guy right up until he deliberately took out a rival on team orders in the last races of his DTM career...