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Mixed emotions for Sauber over British Grand Prix

Matthew Turnbull — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 20:11:17 +0000

By finishing sixth in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Kamui Kobayashi scored eight championship points – the best result for Sauber so far this season. His team mate, Pedro de la Rosa, had to give up at half distance because of damage to the rear of the car caused by an accident with Adrian Sutil. De la Rosa was speeding down the Hangar Straight when part of his rear wing shattered, causing the safety car.

Kobayashi was very happy with his race after finishing 6th from qualifying 12th, with the Japanese driver saying he found the race easy!

“I’m really happy, but actually I don’t have much to tell,” Kobayashi said. “I had a very good start from 12th, the team did a great pit stop and the race pace today was as good as I thought it would be. I was pretty confident before the race because I can really feel how the car is getting better and better now. I had no chance to overtake anybody this time, but I still enjoyed the race. I didn’t find it especially hard, I didn’t even sweat,” he concluded.

In contrast to his teammate, Pedro de la Rosa was very disappointed with his race after being hit by Adrian Sutil forced his retirement.

“Naturally I’m very disappointed,” said the veteran Spaniard. “The car was quite good. I had some understeer, but nothing major. Right after the start I was racing alongside Rubens Barrichello and he pushed me wide in turn one. That was where I lost two places and dropped back to 11th. But I was still racing for points when Adrian Sutil hit me from behind at half distance of the race because not everybody in front of me had stopped by then. Unfortunately the damage proved to be too bad to continue,” he lamented.

Team boss Peter Sauber said it was a ‘strong and successful’ race for Kamui Kobayashi, but the Swiss says that Kobayashi could have gone even faster!

“This was another strong and successful race for Kamui. But the difference to the recent Grand Prix in Valencia is this time he had to withstand a lot of pressure over the entire race distance. There was never a real gap ahead or behind him. He managed this tight situation very well and I think he could have gone even faster.

“My compliments not only to him and his driving, but also to the team which is improving the car step by step. Pedro had a very unlucky race. Right after the start he was pushed off by somebody, but he still had a good chance for points before the incident with Adrian Sutil on lap 26.”

Sauber hails Kobayashi drive as ‘amazing’

Jack Sargeant — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 06:46:43 +0000

The first of their many mid-season updates looked promising for Sauber, as for the first time this season they were seriously competing for championship points.

Kamui Kobayashi showed us the reason we all fell in love with him in the final races of 2009, passing Fernando Alonso and Sebastien Buemi on the final lap with his gung-ho style on full show, as he took 7th. Team boss Peter Sauber hailed the drive as ‘amazing’:

“I can only think of one word for it – amazing! I was obviously thrilled by his two overtaking moves at the end of the race, but what impressed me most was how Kamui mastered his long stint on the hard tyres. At times he was setting some of the fastest lap times of any driver, but still managed to look after his tyres. He also drove very consistently and didn’t allow himself to be put under pressure by Jenson Button. Signing a rookie is always something of a risk; on Sunday Kamui delivered confirmation that we made the right decision.”

James Key the technical director explained why the C29 was so competitive in the race:

“There are several reasons. When a driver finds himself in a competitive position like that he always finds something more in himself because he’s following quicker cars. And Kamui did a very good job. The race also showed that the car works when it’s in the right conditions, but the question we have and we had for several of the last races is why the car is more competitive in race conditions than qualifying. The drivers report that the car is easier to drive in the race, and tyre degradation wasn’t a problem either, so we weren’t particularly hard on the tyres. We need to look into the data, now that both drivers delivered a competitive race after a qualifying that was not up to our expectations. We need to pin down the differences in how the car is feeling and handling and see how we can apply that to qualifying.”

James Key also explained the next development steps for Sauber, and revealed that they have already started work on their 2011 car:

“We are currently in the process of splitting our resources as best we can between the current car and the C30. We are a private team and we don’t have unlimited resources to do everything we want. For Silverstone we have some front wing updates and modifications around the middle of the car. Then for Hockenheim we will have a rear end update which includes a diffuser step as well. The numbers in the wind tunnel are progressing well. At the same time we are focusing on Spa and Monza for lower downforce and drag configurations. And there will be further steps towards the end of the year.”

Kamui Kobayashi said of his moves on Alonso and Buemi:

“My car was feeling good and I had a lot more grip than Fernando and Sébastien with my fresh tyres; my lap times were clearly better. I only had four laps with the new tyres. I was genuinely faster, so I had to give it a try. I just wanted to get the most I could out of the situation. I was sure that I could get past as long as they didn’t make any strange moves under braking. I didn’t expect them to, as both of them are good drivers and would not throw away their points shortly before the end of the race.”

Sauber would have scored their first double points finish, was it not for the daft 5 second penalties dished out to numerous drivers for speeding behind the safety car. Pedro de la Rosa was demoted from 10th to 12th and said:

“No, that came totally out of the blue. I didn’t see the Safety Car delta time on the steering wheel display at all. The Safety Car went out onto the track as I was going through the final corners. These are fast corners, and we were still running close together, fighting for positions, as the race was still in its early stages. At the same time, I spoke to the pits on the radio, because I had been called in for a stop. Eight other drivers obviously had a similar experience. To tell the truth, I also think that if one of us had lifted in response to the delta time, it would have caused a crash. At the end of the day, I was 2.8 seconds too fast and accept my penalty for that, although this offence has not always been punished in the past. Plus, the fact that nine drivers all made the same mistake at the same time indicates that there were special circumstances involved. I found it surprising that the penalty was five seconds; a 20-second time penalty is about right for a drive-through.”

New name and logo for BMW Sauber?

Jack Sargeant — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:38:43 +0000

BMW Sauber have dropped a hint that they may be changing the name and logo of their Formula 1 team, to Sauber Motorsport. It makes sense, too, given that BMW are no longer associated with the team.

The above, new logo was displayed on a press release previewing the Bahrain Grand Prix on the BMW Sauber media site.

However changing their name could cause its own issues – to change a F1 team name after already registering another, is difficult and could result with the loss of the team’s claim to TV revenue earned in the 2009 season. Another theory is that Peter Sauber may be waiting for a title sponsor before filling in the name-change form.

Key in for Rampf at BMW Sauber

Jack Sargeant — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:40:14 +0000

(L to R) James Key, Willy Rampf

The 56-year-old German Willy Rampf has stepped down as technical director at the BMW Sauber team, after 10 years in his position at the Hinwil-based team.

Rampf is to make way for 38-year-old Englishman James Key, who will take up his position at the team on April 1st.

Key started off designing cars at Lotus, before launching his Formula One career in 1998 as a data engineer with Jordan. After becoming Takuma Sato’s race engineer, Key then spent a year in the aerodynamics department, before he was made head of vehicle dynamics. Key was appointed Technical Director in season 2005, when the team was renamed Midland. He retained this position when the team became SpykerF1 and then Force India. Key was in charge of the VJM02 with which the private team took a pole position, a podium place and a fastest race lap in 2009.

Key said:

“The first time I saw the facilities in Hinwil, I knew straightaway the kind of opportunities open to me there. The wind tunnel, the supercomputer, the machine park and the expertise of the team were extremely persuasive. There is significant potential at Sauber, and with the ever-changing world of F1 I think the team is very well placed at present. I am grateful to my old team for the past 12 years I spent with them, but now I very much look forward to starting my new job. I would like to thank Peter Sauber and the team for this great opportunity.”

James Key

BMW Sauber team boss Peter Sauber commented:

“Despite his young age, James looks back on more than a decade of experience in Formula One – and the 2009 car in particular proved quite a revelation. James comes from a private team and knows how to work around a limited budget. With us he will enjoy high-level technical opportunities. Willy and James will be devoting April to the handover. I have known about Willy’s plans for some time, of course, and fully understand his decision. He has achieved great things for our team. I had managed to get him on board as race engineer for season 1994. Then in 1998 he temporarily left the team to pursue his Paris-Dakar Rallye dream and ran BMW’s motorcycle involvement – a successful interlude, as we know. In 1999 he returned to the fold with the clear aim of becoming Technical Director. It was practically his first Formula One car that was out on the grid in 2001, and we finished fourth in the Constructors’ Championship as a privately-run team. We have Willy to thank for a great deal.”

Peter Sauber

Willy Rampf said:

“When you’re Technical Director of a Formula One team, the job comes first and everything else is subordinate to it. I have done my job with a passion for ten years, but now it’s time to hand over the baton. Peter Sauber gave me the chance to enter this league of motor sport and I greatly value all my years spent working with the team.”

Willy Rampf

Sauber reveal C29 (Gallery)

Jack Sargeant — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:44:46 +0000

Sauber have today launched thir 2010 challenger – the C29 at the Ricardo Tormo race track in Valencia.

“The last few months have been very intense for us,” says team boss and owner Peter Sauber. “First we had to battle to secure the survival of the team and then we focused on putting a strong set-up in place for the future. The technical preparation of the 2010 car has continued uninterrupted and according to plan since the spring of 2009, despite all the turmoil. We have a long tradition of bringing together an up-and-coming youngster and an experienced campaigner as a driver combination – and it’s an approach that has brought us a lot of success. Pedro has been working at the highest level technically for many years and for a top team, and we can benefit as a team from this experience. Young Kamui also has a lot to offer us, and last year he impressed me particularly in Abu Dhabi.”

For De la Rosa, a long-harboured hope has been realised: “At last I can feel like a proper racing driver again. I’ve really missed the competition out on the track. At the same time, though, I’ve learned a lot technically and on the systems side, and now I want to bring that knowledge to the team.”

Kobayashi can’t wait to tackle his first full season in Formula One: “I’m very proud that Peter Sauber has shown so much faith in me and I’m determined not to disappoint him. My aim is that he will end up being proud of me as well.”

BMW Sauber C29

Rampf explains: “The development of the BMW Sauber C29 has seen the team build on the experience gained last year and the improvement in performance over the final third of the season. However, the new regulations banning refuelling during the race and stipulating a reduced width for the front tyres have required significant changes to the car’s design.”

The increased length of the fuel tank means the car has grown longer overall. And because they are slimmer, the front tyres will be more heavily worked, requiring weight to be shifted further towards the rear of the car.

An eye-catching feature of the C29 is its highly intricate raised nose. Also very distinctive is an extremely long undercut at the transition from chassis into underbody. These and other aerodynamic measures also help to ensure optimum airflow to the double diffuser. Further changes were required to integrate the Ferrari engine and, in particular, the Ferrari gearbox.

Specification

Chassis: Carbon-fibre monocoque
Suspension: Upper and lower wishbones (front and rear), inboard springs and dampers, actuated by pushrods (Sachs Race Engineering)
Brakes: Six-piston brake callipers (Brembo), carbon pads and discs (Brembo, Carbon Industries)
Transmission: Ferrari Seven-speed quick shift gearbox, carbon, longitudinally mounted, carbon-fibre clutch
Chassis electronics: MES
Steering wheel: BMW Sauber F1 Team
Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza
Wheels: OZ
Length: 4,940 mm
Width: 1,800 mm
Height: 1,000 mm
Track width, front: 1,495 mm
Track width, rear: 1,410 mm
Weight: 620 kg (including driver, tank empty)

Gallery

Images (C) Sauber

BMW Sauber reorganisation announced

Ciaran Moriarty — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:53:07 +0000

The BMW Sauber F1 team has announced the restructuring of its management, following the purchase of the team by Peter Sauber near the end of last year.

Peter Sauber is now the President of the board of directors, but will not have any operational duties at the team’s Hinwil base. This will be left with the management in Hinwil.

His son, Alex, is now in charge of the marketing department. He previously worked in Neue Grasshopper Fussball AG, a Swiss football team.

Willy Rampf remains as technical director. Urs Jampen returns to the role of finance director after 18 months. Jurg Flach is now the director of operations, with overall responsibility of production. Monisha Kaltenborn is the new managing director, who has been promoted from Head of Legal Affairs.

When asked about the reorganisation, Peter Sauber said:

“Formula 1 is constantly changing.This division of responsibilities not only meets the demands of the sport, but also freshens things up within the company. I will keep myself informed on all important developments, but will leave operational matters to the management in Hinwil.”

Sauber to launch car before Valencia test

Jack Sargeant — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:11:08 +0000

Sauber are the first team of the 13 to announce their launch date – January 31st at the Valencia circuit, before testing kicks off there the next day.

Despite BMW selling the team to Sauber, the official team name will remain BMW Sauber – for the time being, at least as team boss Peter Sauber has “not decided” when an application to change the name of his Hinwil based Formula One team will be made.

F1 testing dates 2010:

February 1st – 3rd – Valencia
February 10th – 13th – Jerez
February 17th – 20th – Jerez
February 25th – 28th – Circuit de Catalunya

De la Rosa for Sauber in 2010?

Jack Sargeant — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:11:35 +0000

According to the Swiss daily newspaper Blick, Sauber will confirm Pedro de la Rosa to drive alongside Kamui Kobayashi in 2010 for the new team.

The newspaper said that an announcement will be made soon, barring “an earthquake in Hinwil.”

The 38-year-old Spaniard has had two previous stints in an F1 race seat from 99-02 with Arrows and Jaguar and from 05-06 at McLaren, before become a full time test driver for McLaren. In his 72 races, he collected 29 points with just 1 podium, and 0 wins.

Last week team owner Peter Sauber was quoted as saying that “an experienced man” with “new knowledge for the team” has been signed to partner Kobayashi in 2010 – a bill perfectly fitted by de la Rosa.

Christian Klien and Nick Heidfeld are other drivers in the running for the seat.

Kobayashi confirmed at Sauber

Jack Sargeant — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:45:21 +0000

Sauber have today confirmed their first driver for 2010 – Japanese former Toyota driver Kamui Kobayashi.

Kobayashi stood in for an injured Timo Glock at Toyota in the last 2 races of last season to make his F1 debut. He finished 9th and 6th but won himself an instant fanbase due to his aggressive style. Kobayashi has previously won the GP2 Asia Series, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Italia. He said:

“Ever since the start of my career I have dreamed of racing in F1. Now this dream has come true. I am very happy that my two races in 2009 have earned me a cockpit place.

“I will do my very best for Peter Sauber’s team and I am proud to be able to carry on flying the Japanese flag in F1.”

Team boss Peter Sauber said:

“I’m very much looking forward to working together with Kamui. In the final two Grand Prix of last season he was granted an unexpected chance to show his skills, and he made impressive use of it.

“Particularly in the Abu Dhabi race he demonstrated not only that he can drive fast and aggressively, but also his ability to successfully implement a strategy. I am convinced he has a great deal of potential and will be able to make the most of it in our team.”

Kobayashi at Sauber in 2010?

chrisward — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:00:40 +0000

It has been reported that Kamui Kobayashi will drive for Sauber in 2010 after an impressive showing at the the end of the season.

Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat alleges that a deal has been made but that no confirmation will be made until both race seats have been filled.

Kobayashi had hoped for a race with Toyota, but the Japanese manufacturer have pulled out of the sport.

Giancarlo Fisichella, Nick Heidfeld and Pedro de la Rosa are believed to be on Sauber’s shortlist, and Peter Sauber has already expressed a desire for a blend of youth and experience behind the wheel.

It is also rumoured that Belgian driver Bertand Baguette (what a name!) will get the test and reserve driver role in Sauber, if you believe comments made by his manager. Baguette drove for BMW Sauber during the last day of the youngsters’ test in Jerez.

Turun Sanomat has also reported Malaysian oil company Petronas will maintain it’s backing of the Swiss team.