01-11-2013.- Looking to improve in qualifying, Mexican driver Esteban Gutiérrez and Team Sauber F1 are assessing what was done today in the two practice sessions for the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi.

In practice 1, Esteban did 18 laps with a best lap time of 1:46.068 to be 15th fastest of the session.

“We tried and evaluated different things in a very precise way as balance will be critical for qualifying and the race.

Especially because of the time of day sessions take place on this track - being too hot in practice 1 and totally different in practice 2 - we have to be prepared as the same will happen in practice 3 and qualifying”, said Esteban.

In practice 2, the Mexican finished 11th with a best lap time of 1:42.509, after 39 laps around the track.

“It's a good assessment that we have to take into consideration because we have to use the experience acquired in FP2 in qualifying and the race.

“We have to find the best balance. Our job today is to balance the car, including full tank for the race simulation and just optimize it to get the best we can out of it”, he remarked.

Gutiérrez talked about the tire behavior that at certain point surprised the team.

“We were surprised because this track is hard on the rear tires but in this case it were the fronts, which changes the perception and that is something we have to evaluate”, he concluded.

On a different not, Esteban said that despite a difficult weekend last time in India, he is motivated from the new experience and expects to have a good result this Sunday.