What really happened at Sauber

The news Sauber had parted ways with team principal Monisha Kaltenborn and the somewhat bizarre handling of the situation dominated Formula 1 paddock chatter at the start of the Baku weekend.

The story broke on Wednesday, with multiple sources suggesting Kaltenborn's opposition to plans to favour Marcus Ericsson over Pascal Wehrlein was among the issues behind her departure.

In addition, sources said Kaltenborn had different views to the owning company - Longbow Finance, which saved the team last July with a takeover and is believed to have Swedish backers - regarding the team's rebuilding process.

With the two at loggerheads, and despite Kaltenborn's considerable F1 experience, it was agreed that they could no longer work together effectively and a split was agreed.

But it wasn't until around 12 hours later that the team, many of whose staff had been travelling to Baku on Wednesday, broke its silence. And when it did, its approach was curious.

Sauber chairman Pascal Picci - who has no F1 experience - chose to release a statement denying suggestions of unequal treatment but making no mention of Kaltenborn's position.

Minutes later a second statement confirmed her departure, claiming "diverging views of the future of the company". There were no quotes from Kaltenborn, who has yet to speak publicly about the week's events.

Picci disputes the suggestion the owner wanted to favour one of its drivers. Sources close to Ericsson also strongly disagree that there was a desire for him to be prioritised.

In a subsequent interview, Picci claimed it was part of an agenda against the team.

"I must once again deny the story that there was a difference of opinion about the management of the drivers after someone said that we would like to favour Ericsson," he said.

"This is a low shot - like a punch under the belt - that has made us look bad. It's a negative action, orchestrated around Marcus and the team in order to demolish us.

"If the Swede got stronger or gets ahead of Pascal in the standings, then many will think and certainly say that this has only happened because he has a better or more competitive car. It's an attitude that I find disgusting."

When facing the media last Thursday in the Baku paddock, both Wehrlein and Ericsson expressed their surprise at the "sudden" departure of Kaltenborn.

Wehrlein chose not to comment on the suggestion of unequal treatment, but Ericsson gave his view, agreeing with the chairman and calling it "completely false and untrue".

He added: "It's very disrespectful towards every single member of the Sauber F1 team. We have both been given equal equipment and priorities."

Wehrlein said Kaltenborn called him to explain the situation. Ericsson said he had yet to speak to his former boss.

When Wehrlein was asked if felt he had lost an important supporter in Kaltenborn, he replied: "You can say that, definitely. She supported me so much and our relationship is or has been really good and will be good in the future as well.

"Monisha was very close to me at one of my toughest times in my career so far when I had my injury. She helped me a lot there and I am very thankful for that and this is something that I will never forget."

In the days after, more details behind why Kaltenborn left started to emerge.

Kaltenborn and the owning company are believed to have been in disagreement for several weeks regarding the running of the team, with the first signs that her position was genuinely under threat arising in Monaco.

Those at the top were not happy with the team's form. Longbow did not feel targets had been met. It was losing faith in Kaltenborn.

Wehrlein had given the team an unlikely points-finish in Spain with eighth place after making a one-stop strategy work. But that was a rare shining light in an otherwise depressing season where Sauber was battling McLaren to avoid the wooden spoon.

The board expected more, especially as it felt it had shored up the team's future and started pumping money in.

Sources suggest Kaltenborn argued the solution was to make changes to the technical team, which would involve replacing technical director Jorg Zander.

She felt that there had been little change since he joined for the start of the season from Audi's closed-down LMP1 programme, having previously spent a short stint at Hinwil as chief designer under BMW between 2006 and '07.

Sauber has had the budget to produce updates this year, a scenario it was not blessed with for much of last season, but they have failed to produce gains on track. The team is at a loss as to why the new parts are not delivering.

The owners disagreed with Kaltenborn over the root cause. They felt the blame lay with her. They did not think Zander was the problem.

Two factions were forming: Kaltenborn and her loyal staff on one side, the owners and Zander on the other.

The Sauber team had become part of Kaltenborn's extended family. She joined the team in 2000, heading up its legal department. In January 2010, she became CEO and took a share in the company.

When Longbow Finance acquired Sauber last year, Kaltenborn retained her position but relinquished her shares - and ultimately control. She also lost her ally Peter Sauber, with the team's founder retiring as part of the deal.

Kaltenborn pushed on, securing Mercedes junior Wehrlein's services this season. She then arranged a deal with Honda that included funding from the Japanese manufacturer and no fees for the engines that would be latest spec and replace year-old Ferrari units that Sauber had to pay for.

It was a partnership that gave the team stability in the long-term. And if the McLaren-Honda relationship breaks down, Sauber would be ideally placed to become Honda's works outfit.

But that wasn't enough. Kaltenborn was fighting a battle she seemed destined to lose. Ultimately she knew she could no longer work with Picci.

Sources close to the situation indicated the owner favoured a management structure that was made up of several personnel on the same level - rather than a team principal in sole charge.

Kaltenborn will have felt she had the experience to lead the team, especially as she had successfully guided it through bumpy patches, including the rocky period after BMW's departure, the three drivers under contract for two seats in its 2015 saga and the threat of closure last year - when the financial situation was so bad staff weren't paid on time.

The owner, it appears, did not feel the same way.

So Kaltenborn is believed to have been given an ultimatum: fall into line, step aside and take a lesser role or leave the company altogether. She decided on the latter.

Kaltenborn's departure leaves Sauber in a precarious position. There are those who are on the side of the owner and those who are loyal to Kaltenborn. This could mean key staff depart over the coming weeks and months. Sauber's location in Switzerland makes it challenging to entice staff to the team.

Former Renault chief Fred Vasseur, ex-Manor racing director Dave Ryan, former Manor sporting director Graeme Lowdon and ex-McLaren CEO Jost Capito have been linked to the team principal role.

As yet, Sauber has yet to make an announcement. Whoever takes it on will have quite a job. Not for the first time, the Swiss team faces an uncertain future.