The Sauber F1 Team continued with its aero measurements during the first free practice session ahead of the Italian Grand Prix in the Autodromo Nazionale in Monza. In the afternoon Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr focused on low and high-fuel runs as preparation for the rest of the weekend. Ericsson and Nasr completed 45 and 52 laps respectively.

The team is pleased to announce that it has been able to employ another key technical member of staff by appointing Nicolas Hennel de Beaupreau as new Head of Aerodynamics. The 43-year old Frenchman started at the Sauber F1 Team headquarters in Hinwil at the beginning of September. Hennel de Beaupreau has worked for several Formula 1 teams; previously he worked as Head of Aerodynamics at the Lotus F1 Team. Mariano Alperin-Bruvera and Seamus Mullarkey, who split the position as Head of Aerodynamics on an interim bases, will be back in their previous positions.

Marcus Ericsson: "It was a good Friday. We tried all the different compounds - medium, soft and supersoft - and got some data on low as well as high-fuel runs. We continued to work on our aero package that we introduced in Spa. All in all it was a positive day during which we gathered interesting information."

Felipe Nasr: "It was again another useful Friday. In the morning we focused on further analysis on the aero package. Thus, FP1 was dedicated to a lot of work on the aerodynamic side of the car. Later on in the afternoon we were able to do short and long-runs on different tyre compounds. It is positive that we were also able to do a race simulation. I feel we still have some work to do for the rest of the weekend, but overall it was a good Friday."

Check out our Friday gallery from Monza, here.