Nasr: Sauber 'a very attractive place to be' in F1 - MotorSportsTalk

Felipe Nasr believes that Sauber is “a very attractive place to be” in Formula 1 as the team continues to rebuild following its takeover.

Nasr made his F1 debut with Sauber at the beginning of 2015, finishing fifth in his first grand prix but has failed to score a single point so far this season.

Financial uncertainty over the past few years left Sauber struggling at the back of the grid until Longbow Finance took over the Swiss operation in the summer.

The buy-out has allowed Sauber to develop upgrades for its C35 car that had been on hold, as well as hire key personnel to help its push up the grid.

Nasr has been linked with a move to Williams for 2017, but said on Thursday in Singapore that Sauber remained an attractive proposition for next season.

“Right now I don’t have any news. Hopefully soon but right now I don’t have much to say really,” Nasr said.

“All I can say, at Sauber things are moving forward. I can see the team really stepping up, a lot of new people coming in.

“It’s still a very attractive place to be, but it’s still an unknown.

“Hopefully when I have some news I’ll bring it in.”

Nasr is thought to be in contention for the Williams seat with rising F3 star Lance Stroll, with Valtteri Bottas widely expected to be retained for 2017.

In a continuing effort to help fans keep track of the on track action, SuperMotocross is in the process of developing and implementing leader lights for the unified series.

Currently Supercross (SMX) utilizes stanchions in the infield that are triggered manually by a race official. At least two stanchions are used in each race as a way to draw the eye to the leader, which is especially useful in the tight confines of the stadium series when lapping often begins before the halfway mark in the 22-bike field. This system has been in place for the past two decades.

Later this year, a fully automated system will move to the bike itself to replace the old system. At that point, fans will be able to identify the leader regardless of where he is on track.

The leader lights were tested in the second Anaheim round this year. An example can be seen at the 1:45 mark in the video above on the No. 69 bike.

“What we don’t want to do is move too fast, where it’s confusing to people,” said Mike Muye, senior director of operations for Supercross and SMX in a press release. “We’ve really just focused on the leader at this point with the thought that maybe down the road we’ll introduce others.”

Scheduled to debut with the first SuperMotocross World Championship race at zMax Dragway, located just outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 3D carbon fiber-printed LED light will be affixed to each motorcycle. Ten timing loops positioned around the track will trigger the lights of the leader, which will turn green.

SMX’s partner LiveTime Scoring helped develop and implement the system that has been tested in some form or fashion since 2019.

When the leader lights are successfully deployed, SuperMotocross will explore expanding the system to identify the second- and third-place riders. Depending on need and fan acceptance, more positions could be added.

SuperMotocross is exploring future enhancements, including allowing for live fan interaction with the lights and ways to use the lighting system during the race’s opening ceremony.

Nasr: Sauber ‘a very attractive place to be’ in F1

SuperMotocross set to introduce Leader Lights beginning with the World Championship finals

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