Mid-season review – Sauber: Between on-track problems and financial worries

The important figures

Constructors’ standings position: 11th

Pole: 0

Podium: 0

Victory: 0

Best result: 12th (Ericsson: Bahrain, Spain / Nasr: Europe)

Best qualification: 15 (Ericsson: China)

Disappointing single-seater – Battling drivers

When comparing the qualifying results to the race results (best lap time achieved), it is noted that Sauber drivers average 15th place in races and 19th place in qualifying. What stands out is the drivers’ ability to make the most of the car during race conditions, despite a chassis that is more than disappointing compared to last season. In this aspect, Felipe Nasr fares the best. The Brazilian driver placed better than his Swedish teammate on seven occasions out of twelve races in the best race laps ranking (5th fastest in Sakhir and 7th in Shanghai), while Marcus Ericsson placed better than Felipe Nasr in qualifying during seven of the first twelve rounds of the championship.

Initial assessment after Russia

Failing to bring points at the end of the weekends, Sauber can at least count on the reliability of its car at the start of the season. Even if Marcus Ericsson was forced to retire during the first race, the Swiss team still ranks around 15th place at the end of the first four weekends of the 2016 season. Unfortunately, reliability cannot compensate for the lack of dynamism and performance of the Sauber C35 of 2016. From Australia, Felipe Nasr stated that he could not keep up with his direct competitors, so the situation was serious. In Bahrain, the situation improved somewhat, and the team recorded its best result with 12th place for Ericsson and 14th for Nasr, who also managed to secure the 5th fastest time in the race. An evolution was made to the C35 chassis in Russia, and the Brazilian seemed satisfied, but it did not make the Sauber shine more, as it remained at the back of the grid, whether in qualifying or races.

New assessment after Azerbaijan

In Spain, Sauber matched their performance from Bahrain by finishing 12th and 14th with their cars, in the same order as in Sakhir. However, during qualifications, the Swiss team still finds itself at the back of the grid, with Manor consistently outperforming them. The team’s financial struggles significantly hinder them, preventing them from bringing many updates to the car and resulting in them being the only team not to participate in the private testing in Barcelona after the Grand Prix in Catalonia. To top it off, a race incident in Monaco led to both drivers retiring. From the outside, the fault could be attributed to Ericsson, who showed impatience by colliding with his teammate while attempting to overtake. But the team chose to blame Nasr for allegedly not adhering to given instructions. In the following two races, the blue and yellow car drivers returned to anonymity at the back of the pack, with only Felipe Nasr making an impression in Baku by finishing 12th and for the first time, beating his teammate to the finish line (except for a retirement in Australia).

Latest assessment at the summer break

In contrast to Manor, which continues to progress throughout the season, Sauber remains stuck in the last positions in qualifying. However, despite being relatively unremarkable on the circuits, the Swiss team is making headlines by announcing its acquisition by Longbow Finance SA. The company manages investments for major global groups, some of which are sponsors of Marcus Ericsson. Even though Peter Sauber and Monisha Kaltenborn have sold their shares of the team to the financial group, Kaltenborn retains her position as technical director, and the team keeps the Sauber name despite the departure of its eponymous owner from the board of directors.

The report on the pilots

Except for Rio Haryanto, the Sauber drivers are not ahead of anyone in the world standings this season. The drivers from the Swiss team have no real adversaries other than themselves. We saw this in several races and sadly in Monaco, Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson don’t really have playmates and thus compete against each other. In this battle, it’s Ericsson who fares better, both in qualifying (7 to 5) and in races (6 to 5) he finishes more often ahead of his teammate.

Notably, Ericsson has suffered one more retirement than his Brazilian teammate; his violent off-track excursion at Silverstone during practice forced him to withdraw from participation. Additionally, the recent acquisition of Sauber might have some connection with the Swedish driver’s sponsors, which could give him an additional advantage within the team. The question of the drivers lined up by Sauber in 2017 has not yet been officially announced, but we can imagine that Marcus Ericsson has a good chance of being in the beautiful blue next year because he brings significant sponsors. As for Felipe Nasr, nothing is certain yet. The Brazilian is often outperformed by his teammate, so he needs to turn the tide to show he also deserves his seat, in addition to the funds he can bring to the team for the next season.

A total failure this season

Dead last this season with no points recorded, Sauber didn’t design a good chassis this year, which adds to the handicap already weighing down the team due to financial troubles that have been ongoing for several seasons. At least, the team can take pride in the reliability of its parts. While it counts five retirements out of twelve races, only two are linked to technical issues. However, the situation has been delicate since the beginning of the season, and the collision between Ericsson and Nasr in Monaco only illustrates the team’s distress.

The acquisition of Sauber announced before Hungary will, it is hoped, give a second wind to a team that has become asthmatic, having only reached Q2 three times this season.