Sauber Regains Lost Ground
Peter Sauber
By Jamie Makin (27/4/2004)
April 27 2004
The weekend's headlines may have been all about Jenson Button's first pole and Michael Schumacher's 74th win, but in the middle of the pack, team SAUBER PETRONAS quietly celebrated their own achievement by bringing both cars home in the top ten for the first time this season.
The team welcomed the return home to Europe after a trying start to the season. At the first three flyaway races, they found themselves facing a two to three second per lap deficit to the top teams. Their subsequent testing session the next week in Barcelona was disrupted by rain and mechanical gremlins. Sauber's fall to the bottom of the time sheets did little to quell fears that the team would continue to lose ground at the next race. The fears would not materialize however, as the team finally began to shine during the San Marino Grand Prix weekend.
Earlier in the year, Peter Sauber indicated that the key to improving the team's performance would lie in how quickly they were able to obtain results from their new state-of-the-art wind tunnel. The team arrived at the circuit in Imola with the first new aerodynamic package engineered in the new tunnel. Giancarlo Fisichella quickly demonstrated its potential by snagging sixth place in Saturday's pre-qualifying session. A gearbox problem would prevent him from setting a time in the final qualifying session, resulting in a 19th place grid position. Felipe Massa also proved that progress had been made despite his qualifying time falling 1.779 short of Jenson Button's pole time. He was 1.521 seconds behind Michael Schumacher's qualifying time, but it has to be said that Schumacher and Button were in a class of their own last weekend. Comparing Massa's time with 3rd place Fernando Alonso's, he had closed the gap to 1.001 seconds.
Sauber's fastest laps during the race painted a similar picture to their qualifying times. Michael Shumacher may have been out of everyone's reach, but both Fisichella and Massa were able to lap within 1 to 1.5 seconds of second place Jenson Button and the other front runners. This is a considerable improvement over the 2 to 3 second disadvantage the team faced in Bahrain.
Fisichella's modified two-stop pit strategy allowed him to work his way up from a desperate 19th place start to a respectable 9th place finish. He was right on the tail of McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen when the checkered flag fell, and literally just missed out on a point-scoring finish. Felipe Massa made three pit stops, but was able to improve to a 10th place finish from his 12th place start. Peter Sauber knew the factory supported teams would be tough competition this year, but his small team had no difficulties beating both Jaguars, both Toyotas and David Coulthard's McLaren this weekend.
The numbers don't paint the whole picture of the weekend's success story. They are merely the reflection of improvements in key areas. The C23 looked extremely nervous in prior races this season, with on board shots showing just how much Fisichella and Massa had to work to keep it on the track. In Imola, the car looked decidedly smoother even over the rough kerbs the drivers use every inch of. Part of this can be attributed to the new power steering system the team is using, as well as the indications that both drivers are feeling more comfortable with their new car and settling into a good working relationship with the race team.
The mood of the team was upbeat in post-race interviews as well. There was no talk of mechanical gremlins or excuses about poor setups. Both drivers and Peter Sauber sounded pleased with the results and confident that there is more to come. Fisichella was "very satisfied that we have made such a big improvement since Bahrain. If we can keep that up we can fight for points a lot more."
The new wind tunnel in Hinwil is operating at full capacity now and more new parts will be tested at Ferrari's Fiorano test track Tuesday through Thursday this week. Every other team will be working equally hard to improve their cars as well but with the new wind tunnel, Sauber clearly has a technological advantage over their rivals. If enough small steps are made between each race, this could be the first year that Sauber gets stronger instead of weaker as the season moves on.
In less than a fortnight, Sauber will head to the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain for the fifth round of the world championship. This track is a favorite testing ground of most teams, but it is also a track that has been kind to Sauber in the past. They have scored points in two of the last three races there, including 4th and 5th place finishes for Heidfeld and Massa in 2002. The team will be working hard towards adding to their points tally there this year.