Sauber ditch
Ferrari
Sauber has been an important part of the Ferrari Family since 1997
but now the teams seem to have gone their seperate ways. After
yesterday's announcement that Sauber had joined the GPWC there was
little suprise when the Swiss team announced a deal for BMW engines
in 2006.
The Sauber team first started using Ferrari engines for the 1997
season and since then the two teams have enjoyed a mutually
beneficial arrangement. Sauber received Ferrari engines that were
paid for by Malaysian oil giant Petronas and later on gearboxes as
well. Meanwhile Ferrari received valuable technical input from the
Hinwil based team.
Ferrari benefited greatly from having another Bridgestone clad team
running the same (almost) engines in that they could receive a wide
range of technical information to better set up their car. Sauber
benefited from having the most reliable engines on the grid, but of
course Sauber was always considered the Ferrari-B team, something
Peter Sauber probably didnt like too much. Sauber has always been
one of the most unique teams on the grid and relying so heavily on
Ferrari definitely took away from that.
The first signs of a split were seen
when Sauber opted to switch from Bridgestone to Michelin tyres for
the start of the 2005 season, something Ferrari didnt want
as they relied heavily on the input from Saubers tyre development.
Sauber then continued to make great technical strides such as,
building a new wind tunnel and developing a new super computer,
both of which strengthening Saubers independence.
Then came the news that Sauber was
joining the GPWC, the rival series to Formula 1. Ferrari
had previously signed an extension to the Concorde Agreement and
thus discontinued all negotiations with the GPWC, something that
did not sit well with any of the other teams. This brought on the
announcements that Honda and Toyota were to work with the GPWC,
further alienating The FIA and Ferrari. Saubers new deal with the
GPWC may not mean as much as Honda and Toyotas but it definitely
affects Ferrari.
Todays announcement that BMW has opted
to supply engines to the Sauber team for the 2006 season is the
final step in the Swiss teams guest for independence from
Ferrari. Much of the specifications regarding the new
arrangement need to be ironed out, but BMW engine man Mario
Theissen is very optimistic about the new deal.
