Action-packed summer for the Sauber Academy
The Sauber Academy drivers enjoyed a couple of action-packed months, as their campaigns all entered their busiest phases, with on-track activities throughout June and July racing across Europe and the United States.
Continuing his North America campaign, Théo Pourchaire took part in the Detroit and Road America IndyCar rounds in June. The Frenchman kept up with his progression in the series, managing to secure his first top ten finish despite a penalty in Detroit. Théo then returned to race in IndyCar the following month, once again for Arrow McLaren, replacing the injured Alexander Rossi at the Toronto round, in a sensational turnaround that saw him on track just hours after having landed from France, and finishing in fourteenth position. Théo will now focus on next steps, as he’s also set to restart his simulator duties for Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber in the second half of the season.
With the European season in full force, throughout a triple header and a back-to-back across June and July, Zane Maloney was in action on some of Europe’s most renowned circuits in Barcelona, Spielberg, Silverstone, Budapest and Spa. Following a couple of challenging events in Spain and Austria, Zane returned to strong results in Silverstone, on a solid weekend which saw him claiming the second spot on the podium on both the Sprint and the Feature Race. A difficult event in Budapest, with two retirements caused by a technical problem in the Sprint Race and by having taken out by a competitor in the Feature Race, was then followed by another stronger performance in Spa, the last race weekend before the summer break. With 111 points to his name, Zane now sits in fourth place in the championship standings, 13 points away from Paul Aron in 3rd, and 54 away from leader, Isack Hadjar.
On a similar packed schedule taking her to European classics, Léna Bühler raced in Zandvoort, at the Hungaroring, on the Mugello hills and in Le Castellet between June and July. Despite some technical struggles, Léna still showed a fair progression throughout the race weekends, learning constantly and improving session after session. After a prolonged break, the Swiss racer will return on track at the Temple of Speed in Monza in September.
Carrie Schreiner, too, enjoyed an intense summer of racing: representing Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber in F1 Academy, the talented German headed out on track in Barcelona for the third round of the Championship. It was a more challenging weekend for Carrie, who finished outside of the points; as the series returns in late August in Zandvoort, she’ll be ready to get back on track, putting difficulties behind her. As part of her preparations, Carrie also took part in the Silverstone and Zandvoort British F4 rounds. Earlier in June, the German returned to her GT racing roots, taking part in the iconic Nürburgring 24 Hours in an all-female lineup, eventually claiming P3 in the SP 8T class.
After a few weeks away from track action after having changed teams and moved to Ricky Flynn Motorsport, Taym Saleh returned to racing in July for Round 4 of Champions of the Future in Kristianstad, Sweden. The German karter took no time in getting back to his standard, equalling his best seasonal performance and making it into the Final.
School is out for the summer for the Sauber Academy drivers, who now will get to reset during a well-deserved break, before reprising their respective campaigns at the end of next month.