Sauber scored more points at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix than in their previous 23 races to put them third in the championship standings behind Mercedes and Ferrari.
Felipe Nasr collected ten points thanks to his fifth place finish whilst Marcus Ericsson crossed the line eighth for four.
Following what has been a difficult week for the team amid ongoing legal battles with Giedo van der Garde and the threat of its assets being impounded, team principal Monisha Kaltenborn hailed Sunday’s outcome.
“That was a great achievement by the whole team,” she said. “We already saw during qualifying that we are competitive, but being able to achieve these positions by our own efforts is a bit of a surprise.
“It is a confirmation of our hard work and a great reward for the team that had to deal with unfavourable circumstances. This applies to the crew in Hinwil as well as to the team at the race track. It was an outstanding achievement which we have to be proud of.
“Obviously, I am very happy about our two drivers who both put in a great performance, and in the end they made this great result possible for us.”
Rookie Nasr described his first F1 race an emotional one and a great achievement for him and the team.
“I am very happy with fifth position in my first ever F1 race. It is such a big relief for the team and myself that we are able to score points, and I am very pleased about this achievement,” he added.
It was a tough race. Right after the start it was quite messy in turn 1, as another driver hit my wheel. I thought the car was damaged a bit, but after a few laps I noticed everything was fine. After that, the race went according to plan.
“That was an emotional race for me and everyone in the team.”
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