2014 Overview – Sauber F1: A Season Without Results
In this month of December, the MotorsInside editorial team invites you to revisit the 2014 season with an assessment of the teams involved this season. Second part: Sauber F1.

The Sauber team has been present in Formula 1 since 1993, but for the first time in 22 years of existence, it has not been able to score any points during the 19 Grand Prix held. The Swiss team finished in 10th position in the constructors’ championship with a score of zero.
THE PILOTS
Adrian Sutil – 18th in the overall standings (0 pts)
The German driver hoped to lead the Sauber F1 team upon his arrival at the beginning of the year, but Sutil quickly had to come to terms with an underperforming car. He didn’t really shine in qualifying but managed to secure the team’s only top 10 finish in Austin by qualifying in 9th position. Unfortunately, he was unable to capitalize during the race, being hit by Perez in the first lap.
In races, he has rarely been able to secure a top 10 finish, except in Australia and Hungary where he finished 11th each time – the two best results for the Swiss team in 2014. Not retained by Sauber for the next season, Adrian Sutil’s future in Formula 1 seems more than uncertain.
Esteban Gutierrez – 20th in the overall standings (0 pts)
The young Mexican had a simple goal for the season /f1/actualite/19173-bilan-2014-caterham-f1-plus-detincelles-en-coulisses-quen-piste.html – his second in Formula 1: try to do better than in 2013, where he finished with 6 points thanks to a 7th place in Japan. But it didn’t go as planned, due (once again) to an underperforming Sauber C33.
Against a more experienced teammate, he couldn’t measure up even though his 12th place in the opening round in Melbourne seemed promising. He never managed to equal or improve during the rest of the season. The same observation applies in qualifying, with Q1 or Q2 as his ceiling.
Like Sutil, who was not retained by Sauber for next season despite the financial backing of Mexican sponsors, his future in Formula 1 as a main driver seems blocked. However, he said he is ready to accept a reserve driver role. Nevertheless, he might be tempted to race in another discipline.
L’EQUIPE
Sauber-Ferrari – 10th in the Constructors’ Championship (0 pts)
Buoyed by a 7th place finish in 2013, the Sauber F1 team hoped to perform at least as well in 2014, but things quickly did not go as planned, due to a Ferrari engine that wasn’t always reliable at the start of the season and especially because of a car that wasn’t on par with its rivals. The Swiss team quickly found itself relegated to the back of the pack, although a few flashes of brilliance led to the vain hope that points would eventually come.
In addition, struggling financially for survival did not help the team to fully develop its car over the course of the season to turn things around. But even if the team’s two drivers have not underperformed in the Grand Prix held this year, the team has not managed to extract more from its current package to secure a life-saving top 10 finish by the end of a race.
PERSPECTIVES
Following its first point-less season in F1 since 1993 – finishing behind Marussia, the team decided to revise its driver lineup, saying goodbye to Sutil and Gutierrez, and welcoming Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr – both backed by sponsors, which allows the Sauber team to receive a significant financial boost to continue its F1 journey and avoid the fate of Marussia and Caterham.
The team has decided to continue the adventure with Ferrari as the engine supplier and will have to do better next season. However, with a driver having only one year of F1 experience behind him and a rookie, the task already seems challenging. Ericsson and Nasr will need to quickly adapt to their new environment to allow the Hinwil team, if not to reach new heights, to climb back up in the rankings.
Find all our reviews, team by team, of the season /f1/actualite/19173-bilan-2014-caterham-f1-plus-detincelles-en-coulisses-quen-piste.html:
– Caterham: Plus d’étincelles en coulisses qu’en piste
– Marussia: De la joie aux larmes…
– Lotus: Une saison dans les bas-fonds
– Toro Rosso: Des progrès malgré les défis à relever
– Force India: Une saison en net progrès
– McLaren: Année de transition après 20 ans avec Mercedes
– Ferrari: La fin d’une ère
– Williams: La saison du renouveau sportif