The technological partnership between the Sauber F1 Team and Honda, which was intended to start from 2018 onwards, is no longer in place, the team has confirmed. Sauber has not announced yet which will be its power unit partner for 2018 and beyond.
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To be fair though, Nasr bitched and moaned about his chassis all year, the team gave it to Ericsson after his shunt and could find nothing wrong with it.
And yes, while Nasr scored Saubers only points he was surely beaten by Ericsson over the course of the season.
Truth is both were there because they were paying for it, Ericsson out qualified and out raced Nasr while Nasr managed to score the only points.
Who's the better driver? I think it's a toss up, but to say that Nasr was more deserving to stay then Ericsson is a bit unfair.
adrianjordan wrote:Isn't a better point that Wherlein is a Mercedes protégé, I would think that puts him at risk IF Honda makes Sauber their works outfit.
It could do but wherlein would do well to get near a Mercedes drive. Ocon looks better and Hamilton and bottas could have years left. I think being part of Mercedes is overplayed anyway they don't have issue with him there using Ferrari power
To be fair though, Nasr bitched and moaned about his chassis all year, the team gave it to Ericsson after his shunt and could find nothing wrong with it.
And yes, while Nasr scored Saubers only points he was surely beaten by Ericsson over the course of the season.
Truth is both were there because they were paying for it, Ericsson out qualified and out raced Nasr while Nasr managed to score the only points.
Who's the better driver? I think it's a toss up, but to say that Nasr was more deserving to stay then Ericsson is a bit unfair.
After the hole season I can say that Ericsson did a better job though Nars scored the only points. Not a fan of him but at least he improved clearly from his first season.
adrianjordan wrote:Isn't a better point that Wherlein is a Mercedes protégé, I would think that puts him at risk IF Honda makes Sauber their works outfit.
It could do but wherlein would do well to get near a Mercedes drive. Ocon looks better and Hamilton and bottas could have years left. I think being part of Mercedes is overplayed anyway they don't have issue with him there using Ferrari power
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I agree, but I was thinking more along the lines of Honda not wanting a rival's driver in their works team.
Favourite driver: Lando Norris
Favourite team: McLaren
Turned down the chance to meet Vettel at Silverstone in 2007. He was a test driver at the time and I didn't think it was worth queuing!! 🤦🏻♂️
One needs to realize that when BMW decided to depart from F1, they left the Sauber team in a bit of a problematic situation. Peter Sauber's aim was always to secure the future of his team (under his name Sauber) and the staff of ~350 in Hinwil/Switzerland. When BMW departed, it forced Peter Sauber out of retirement and to buy back his team. Despite this, the team were steady performers from 2010 on, with slow and gradual improvement in the WCC, despite the loss of major sponsor Petronas (moved to Mercedes) and continued troubles of finding sponsors.
One of the biggest struggles the team faced was in 2014 when they ended up with a severely handicapped engine in an era dominated by the performance of the PU. As a result of these struggles it made finding money backers and sponsors even more troublesome while also losing high quality staff and engineers.
To put some of that in context, in 2013, Sauber was ahead of Torro-Rosso (8th) and Williams (9th). In 2014, they ended the season in 10th without a single point and past by Williams who with Mercedes powered engines was propelled to 3rd in the WCC (coming from 9th the year before). 2014 also marked the year where Sauber had a total of 13 retirements (DNFs).
To make matters worse, the financial troubles of both Marussia and Caterham meant that many suppliers started requiring upfront payment. This created a big problem for Sauber who needed to pay upfront to even make the grid on various instances. As a result, the team found itself behind payment of various drivers and staff. This also later led to the necessity of having to sign both Ericsson and Nasr (both with major money backing) over driver Giedo van der Garde for the 2015 season.
Not making any excuses here; it is what it is. In Switzerland and according to local newspapers, many regard Monisha Kaltenborn as one of the reasons that the team is still in F1 and has survived so far. The sale to Longbow Finances S.A. in 2016 marks one of Monisha's accomplishments in securing the future of the team.
As a Sauber fan, I do wonder where the team is heading in the future. I'm quite concerned knowing the team will be using Honda engines next year. To be limited by the Ferrari 2016 engine this season is certainly limiting their ability to be (more) competitive IMO.
Not for nothing, Rosberg's Championship is the only thing that lends credibility to Hamilton's recent success. Otherwise, he'd just be the guy who's had the best car. — bhall II #Team44 supporter
Monisha Kaltenborn apparently negotiated the Honda engine for next year which would involve free engine supply and some financial support as per Joe Saward.
I am curious though if that's the case if honda still supplies mclaren, as this sounds a lot like the mclaren deal. which raises the question if this will actually still happen if mclaren keeps honda.
as for kaltenborn, it was mentioned in a news article that she essentially dug her own grave when she distanced her share in sauber and when she didn't want to agree or respect the direction the technical director and longbow wanted to go, and that in the end, the conflicts became too repetitive so she got sacked.
"Explain the ending to F1 in football terms"
"Hamilton was beating Verstappen 7-0, then the ref decided F%$& rules, next goal wins
while also sending off 4 Hamilton players to make it more interesting"
She had to sell her shares. It was all part of securing Saubers future.
Not for nothing, Rosberg's Championship is the only thing that lends credibility to Hamilton's recent success. Otherwise, he'd just be the guy who's had the best car. — bhall II #Team44 supporter
The Sauber Formula 1 team has recruited former Mercedes engineer Ian Wright as its new head of vehicle performance, with ex-Manor chief designer Luca Furbatto also set to join it.
I am curious though if that's the case if honda still supplies mclaren, as this sounds a lot like the mclaren deal. which raises the question if this will actually still happen if mclaren keeps honda.
as for kaltenborn, it was mentioned in a news article that she essentially dug her own grave when she distanced her share in sauber and when she didn't want to agree or respect the direction the technical director and longbow wanted to go, and that in the end, the conflicts became too repetitive so she got sacked.
Could also just be a sign of how committed Honda are to getting a second team to run their PU and hence push development faster (pun intended).
Favourite driver: Lando Norris
Favourite team: McLaren
Turned down the chance to meet Vettel at Silverstone in 2007. He was a test driver at the time and I didn't think it was worth queuing!! 🤦🏻♂️
