Tag: sauber f1 team

Renault and Alfa Romeo Sauber’s 2018 F1 challengers

Following the launches of the new Haas F1 and Williams 2018 F1 cars, as well as Red Bull’s RB14, the Renault and Alfa Romeo Sauber unveiled their 2018 challengers on Tuesday.

The C37 Alfa Romeo Sauber

Marking the start of its title sponsorship with Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo, Sauber unveiled the C37 for the 2018 F1 season. The car was launched with the same livery used when the team first announced their partnership with Alfa Romeo who is returning to Formula One after an absence of over three decades.

As far as the livery goes, the car could probably have done with a little more red. As our own Natalie commented, “It’s going to look just like a Williams from the front. More red dammit!”.

The C37 has been built on a new design philosophy – one that Sauber’s technical director Joerg Zander hopes will bring Sauber back up to the midfield.

According to the team, the focus has been improved aerodynamics in addition to changes to meet the new technical regulations for F1 2018 which include the removal of the shark fin and T-wings and the addition of the halo cockpit protection system.

The C37 will also be competing with Ferrari’s 2018 spec power units. Zander says that the team is “positive that the new concept offers us more opportunities and will help us to make improvements during the course of the season. The 2018 Ferrari engine will also give us a boost in term of our performance.”

Renault’s R.S.18

Renault also revealed images of its 2018 challenger on Tuesday – the car manufacturer’s third new chassis since its return to F1 as a works’ entry. The car features a brand new ‘reversed’ livery and according to the team is a progression and refinement of the concepts developed during F1 2017. This includes improved suspension and better aerodynamic downforce.

The R.S.18 also features the new Halo cockpit protection system and all technical changes to meet the new regulations for the 2018 season.

Renault Sport Racing President Jérôme Stoll said that the “Renault Sport Formula One Team’s ambition is clearly to uphold the outstanding record of the past and the 2017 season has confirmed we are on the right track. We are a team on the rise.

“We have two very talented drivers who are hungry for results. Enstone is regenerated and the workforce has already increased by more than 35%. Our investment has so far been successfully translated to the track as we rose from ninth to sixth in the Constructors’ Championship in 2017 and ended the year with the fourth fastest car.”

“The success of the programme in just two years is a testament to the resilient plan laid down early in the creation of the team and the strong job done by Cyril and the entire Renault Sport Racing teams. I am convinced year three will take us one step closer to the long-term aim: winning races and challenging for championships.”

Photos: Alfa Romeo Sauber & Renault

February 21, 2018
Sauber Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Preview Quotes

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Preview Quotes from the Sauber F1 Team

Marcus Ericsson

“Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the last race of the season – it is unbelievable how time flies. It is very exciting to come back to Abu Dhabi, and I am looking forward to enjoying the race weekend there. This grand prix in the Middle East is always a great event attended by lots of fans from many countries. It is a race in the desert with the start at sunset. The track itself is in perfect condition, it is very modern and has some run-off areas.

As the circuit has a few long straights, engine power will be crucial. On the other hand, there are also hairpins and some slow speed corners. I am quite familiar with that track from my time in the GP2 series, and I also drove there for my first test for the Sauber F1 Team in November last year. Certainly, we will again do our best to score points – for a successful completion to the season.”

Felipe Nasr

“The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is another great event, and I will enjoy driving on this track with our car for the first time. So far, I have driven there as a GP2 driver and I have also had an F1 test with Williams. I can also say, because of my family’s Lebanese roots, I always receive a warm welcome and a lot of support both in the UAE and the whole of the Middle East. They make me feel I am also at home. I like the people, their traditions, their cultures and, of course, the food.

On the track it will be important again to find the right set-up, and this is where we need to concentrate our focus the most on Friday. The track in the desert sands is quite spectacular with unique surroundings. All in all, the atmosphere is special. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix starts late in the afternoon, which makes it even more interesting, because of the floodlit-style à la Singapore. We will keep on with our fight for a good result.”

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering

“After coming back empty-handed from South America, the whole team looks forward to fighting hard for more points and so to close this long season on a high at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The race start at sunset and finish in the dark means the temperatures will go in the opposite direction to what we usually experience, so the drivers and engineers will have to account for this, especially in the practice sessions happening earlier in the day in much hotter conditions.

The focus will be on braking performance, as well as traction optimisation. The car will need to be reactive and precise for the final sector and, at the same time, fast on the straights that dominate the earlier part of the lap. Lastly, trading off tyre performance against durability will be a challenge in the race, as Pirelli has confirmed last year’s choice of soft and supersoft compounds.”

November 26, 2015
Kaltenborn: Bigger teams have an agenda to force small teams out of F1

Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn has come out guns blazing saying that F1’s bigger teams have an agenda to drive the smaller teams off the grid and ultimately alter the DNA of the Formula One championship.

Marussia has already been forced to shut its doors and Caterham are fighting for their future, resorting to crowd funding to try and get their cars back on the grid for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Kalteborn claims that certain proposals had been made to the smaller teams which led them to believe that the bigger teams have an end goal in mind to push the smaller teams off the grid. The larger teams quickly refused suggestions they should give up a share of their revenues to aid the smaller teams with the high costs of competing in the sport.

Kaltenborn said: “Looking at the proposals which have been made you have to believe there is some agenda, don’t you? The agenda seems to be that people are looking at four or five names to stay in here, and when ideas are offered to us of a year-old chassis or engines which are maybe a different spec or series, there must be agenda. As there’s no-one reacting to it in front we don’t know whose agenda it is.

“That’s why it’s important we said what we had to on this point because these things are changing every day, but the fact is it cannot remain like this. It’s no way we want to work and can work and the more these ideas are coming up the more we three get the feeling that maybe some people don’t want us to be around and maybe the sport is supposed to be changed in a very different way.”

Kaltenborn also believes that one of the biggest problems is that the bigger teams no longer think about F1 as just a sport.

“The big teams out there use this as a simple sporting marketing platform. It’s nothing more for them. They talk of it as being a sport, about Benetton, all this stuff where is that now? We are not out here with, as they are saying, begging bowls.

“We also work quite well in times, if you look back, when you had a Toyota with a horrendously high budget, and we had our little budget but we used to be on the podium often. We don’t need to be a threat to them but we are part of the show and it’s very disrespectful to behave like this to teams within the sport and even more disrespectful towards the fans.”

“Basically it is the end of the fascination of F1,” she went on to say. “They are totally disregarding what the fans want. You are just destroying the whole series. It’s short-sighted business thinking.”

Force India’s deputy team boss Bob Fernley echoed Kaltenborn’s sentiments saying, “We were given a clear direction there is no money on the table. There is a very clear programme coming in. The goal is to move to customer-car teams and the three cars will be the interim. That would allow them to keep the numbers while the customer cars are brought in.”

He went on to tell The Guardian, “Again this comes back to short-termism for profit. Simply how much money can we generate for the shareholders of CVC. End of story.

“Sell it off and the consequences they don’t care about. They walk away from it, they’ve got the money in. It’s someone else’s problem. And the fans? Irrelevant.”

Lotus owner Gérard Lopez also weighed in saying, “Gordon Gekko said ‘greed is good’ and look what happened to him. He ended up in jail. I’ve never threatened any kind of protest but this is a £1.6bn business and teams are going to the wall for the sake of a couple of tens of millions.

“Three-car teams will be the death of the championship. People just don’t seem to care enough about the sport to do something.”

It was reported during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend that Ferrari and Red Bull will be running three-car teams next season. Both teams have denied these reports.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner, further refuted any claims of an agenda.

“Red Bull’s position is we want to see a full grid of two-car teams,” he said.

Agreements between F1’s commercial rights holders CVC Capital Partners and the teams state that if the number of cars on the grid drops below 20, the bigger teams have an obligation to field a third car.

But Horner insisted that running a third car, which would likely cost around 40 million Euros per year, is not something that Red Bull are considering at this point in time.

“The numbers haven’t dropped significantly low enough, and we haven’t been requested by the promoter to run a third car,” he said.

“It’s not something we’re planning; it’s not something that we’re pushing for. If we’re requested to do it then obviously we’ll have to look at it at that point.

“Our preference is we have at least 10 healthy competing two-car teams.”

Photo Credits:

Monisha Kaltenborn – Sauber F1 Team; Force India team pit stop – Sahara Force India (Facebook); Christian Horner – Red Bull Racing Instagram

November 11, 2014
Korean GP Preview Quotes – Sauber F1 Team

Here’s what the Sauber F1 Team had to say ahead of this weekend’s Korean GP.

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber

“Compared to many other drivers, Korea is a place I quite like. It’s a nice track and each sector is very different. The first sector has two straights and two hairpins. Sectors two and three are a bit like a street circuit and technically quite challenging. I enjoy driving there and also, historically, it has been quite a good circuit for me. In 2010 I would have finished fifth, but had a puncture just before the end of the race. Last year I had a great race there finishing sixth. So I have good memories of the Korean GP and look forward to the race weekend.”

Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber

“The Korean GP is going to be an exciting weekend for me, because I’ve been to the track but never raced there before. I’ve heard it’s quite nice to drive and it is going to be a good experience. In terms of preparation, I have mostly learned from and analysed data and notes from previous years. I also watch a lot of on board videos and, of course, walk the track once we get there. With the two weeks between the Singapore and Korean GP’s, I had plenty of time to study the track and make sure I am as best prepared as possible. Other than that, the aim for me will, again, be to keep up and improve my consistency.”

Tom McCullough, Sauber head of track engineering
“The Korea International Circuit does not get a lot of use prior to or during the Korean GP race weekend. This year there is actually only one support race, which is something we have little experience of. Therefore, observing and understanding the track evolution will be important. The three sectors at the Yeongam circuit are all very different and that makes it a real challenge to optimise the car. The first sector only has two significant low speed corners; the rest of the sector is spent flat out in a straight line, therefore rewarding a lower drag set-up. However, in contrast the final two sectors are a good mix of low, medium and high-speed corners with shorter straights. As in previous years, the option compound will be the supersoft tyre compound. However, like in Singapore, the prime will be the medium compound, which is one step harder than we used last year. It will be particularly important to understand how this tyre performs on a faster track, particularly in high-speed corners. The recent update packages have all worked as intended and are helping us to fight stronger within the tight midfield pack. Our aim is to continue qualifying strongly and give ourselves the best opportunity to score more points.”

October 3, 2013
Cutaway Insights – Episode 11: SECU / Standard Electronics Control Unit

In Episode 11 of Sauber’s Cutaway Insights series we see the SECU or Standard Electronics Control Unit – which is basically the car’s brain. Or heart? Feel free to discuss F1 cars’ physiology 😉

July 18, 2013
Video – Cutaway Insights – Episode 10: Correvit Optical Sensor – Sauber F1 Team

In this fascinating episode of the Sauber F1 Team’s Cutaway Insights Series, they look at the Correvit Optical Sensor.

July 18, 2013
Video: Cutaway Insights – Episode 9: F1 Security Data Recorder (SDR) – Sauber F1 Team

In this episode of the Sauber F1 Team’s Cutaway Insights series, Matt Morris (Chief Designer for the C32) shows you the F1 Security Data Recorder (SDR). FIA is planning to introduce a new g-force sensor for 2014 which will be placed in the drivers’ earpieces. This will be in addition to the SDR and will more accurately measure the forces actually acting on the drivers and, in particular, their heads. Enjoy the video!

July 13, 2013
F1 Video – The Evolution of F1 Steering Wheels since 1993

A super cool Tech Bites video by the Sauber F1 team showing the evolution of F1 steering wheels since 1993. Did you know that the Sauber C12’s steering wheel had only two buttons in 1993?! Amazing to see how much they’ve changed and how buttons and knobs have been added or moved year after year.

June 26, 2013
F1 Canadian Grand Prix Preview Quotes – Sauber F1 Team

The Sauber F1 team preview the upcoming 2013 Canadian Grand Prix. Quotes from Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Gutierrez and Tom McCullough, Head of Track Engineering for the Sauber F1 team.

Nico Hulkenberg: “The Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is one of my favourites. It’s a challenging track with a mixture of a permanent racetrack and a street circuit. It has some tight sections that don’t allow for any mistakes. I like the whole layout and, in particular, the kerbs. The atmosphere on Ile Notre-Dame is always great and the whole city of Montreal welcomes Formula One. It’s a very nice Grand Prix, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Esteban Gutierrez: “So far I have driven once at the track on Ile Notre-Dame, and that was in 2007 in Formula BMW. It went quite well with one podium finish and a fourth place. It’s a really nice circuit and I like it a lot. The track is slippery and tyre management will yet again be very important, which gives us an opportunity to put a good strategy together. Obviously overtaking will be easier than in Monaco, which can benefit us. It’s hard to judge how competitive we will be, as it will also depend on the weather. Hopefully with better conditions we can have a more consistent weekend, which will help us to progress and make the most of our potential.”

Tom McCullough, Head of Track Engineering: “The Montreal circuit is very narrow and has walls very close to the track. It typically produces one of the most exciting races of the season and a Safety Car is highly likely. The circuit is comprised of long straights and slow speed corners, which encourage overtaking, and also contribute to it being one of the hardest for the brakes. The circuit efficiency requires a lower drag level rear wing compared to Monaco, but you still need a strong car in low speed corners. This year the medium compound replaces the soft as the prime tyre, while the option remains as the super soft. Pirelli has also announced we will have a new rear construction to evaluate on Friday before its planned race introduction at Silverstone.”

June 1, 2013
Spanish F1 Grand Prix Preview Quotes: Sauber F1 team

Spanish F1 Grand Prix Preview Quotes from the Sauber F1 team.

Nico Hulkenberg: “I’m looking forward to the Spanish Grand Prix because it kicks off this season’s European races. Barcelona is a nice city where you can get a real feel for the Spanish life style. We know the Circuit de Catalunya well, of course, from the winter tests. However, since winter testing many things have changed and also the climate will be different from the one we had in February, which you have to take into consideration. The circuit is diverse. The first two sectors are fast with fast, long corners, which require good down force and a well-balanced car, whereas the third sector is quite technical. The aero updates we bring to this race will show how well our car is suited to this track.”

Esteban Gutierrez: “The first time I raced in Barcelona was in 2008. I know the track and during the winter tests I was also able to experience driving a Formula One car there. As the first of a series of European races, I think it is going to be an exciting event and I’m looking forward to that. The track is quite demanding, especially the last sector. Tyre management will be crucial here, and, especially during a qualifying lap, you need to nurse your tyres in the first two sectors in order to get a clean third sector. You must make sure the tyres still have good grip when you approach the final corners of the lap, including the chicane. We have to wait and see if the updates will help us to catch up with the guys further up the field.”

Tom McCullough, Head of Track Engineering: “Although Barcelona is a track we know well from winter testing, the higher temperatures do change how the tyres perform, so we have to adapt to that. The first two sectors are biased towards higher speed corners, whereas the third sector is dominated by a technical sequence of lower speed corners, hence the set-up is always a compromise. The option tyre will be the medium compound and for the prime Pirelli are re-introducing the 2012 hard compound for this event. We have some further aero updates, including a modified rear wing, and we will be evaluating these during Friday practice. Qualifying is particularly important here as overtaking can be difficult in the race. Our target for the race is to finish with both cars in the points.”

May 3, 2013