F1: Nasr never knew full picture on Sauber future

Felipe Nasr says he "never knew the whole picture" about Sauber's uncertain future ahead of the Formula 1 team securing new owners earlier this week.

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"There were always rumours and I never knew the whole picture, but I could see the whole team was struggling," said Nasr. "For everybody, including myself but also the mechanics, the staff, it gives them security, stability to work. Finally, it's good news for everybody. It's been a while."

Longbow is understood to have ties to Nasr's teammate Marcus Ericsson, although the Swede played that down at the Hungaroring on Thursday.

"It's not something I know about," said Ericsson. "I'm not involved in these kinds of things. It's important the team has a new owner but who they are and what they are is not something I am involved with. Who owns the team and who is putting money in is not my job."

Both drivers hope the takeover will have short-term and long-term benefits for Sauber, meaning the team can fight to get off the bottom of the constructors' championship as well as accelerating work on its 2017 car.

Nasr and Ericsson will try a new rear wing in Hungary this weekend, having given it a first run at Silverstone.

"It's no secret it's been a difficult year for us, financially mainly," added Ericsson. "We haven't been able to update the car the way we wanted. I'm hoping with a new owner we can improve as a team, and I like the way things are looking at Sauber."

Nasr added: "We had updates planned, but it was really missing the green light and now things are coming. We still have 11 races to go this season, hopefully we have enough time to fight for a few points.

"The priority now is to bring the car some performance in the next few races. It's also true that the team is working on 2017 plans, back at the factory redesigning the new car. There are a lot of things happening. This year everything came pretty late, but we still have time to do something for next year."

Sauber is currently on course for its second constructors' finish outside the top 10 in the last three years, which would have serious financial implications based on the way F1 team payouts are structured.

Originally on Autosport.com