Grapevine: Sauber Hoping for Volkswagen Link-Up

Team boss Peter Sauber has revealed that he is interested in gaining manufacturer backing for his team and said that he hopes to secure a deal with Volkswagen if the German outfit enter Formula One.

Sauber currently run Petronas-badged Ferrari engines, but the team chief admitted that he has a link-up with a major manufacturer in his long-term plans for the Swiss team, and he claimed that securing a deal with the German engine supplier is the next natural step for Sauber if they are to build on their impressive fourth place finish in the Championship last year.

"We might be considered a small team, but we are very efficient and that is what really counts - not only in sport, but also in business," Sauber said in Motorsport News magazine.

"Our business position is okay, but in sport you must always have the goal to progress. For the last step, you need a manufacturer. I've always had this in my head and nothing has changed."

Volkswagen chief Bernd Pischetsrieder has played down suggestions that the manufacturer are to follow Toyota and introduce their own team into the sport in the coming years. But Sauber is hopeful that Volkswagen will join forces with his Hinwil-based team when they do decide the time is right to enter Formula One.

"I don't know if it's right time for Volkswagen to come into F1, but if the company makes that decision I think it is important to discuss it with us," Sauber added. "I hope our current position makes us the obvious choice. But we have time. It is important not to say 'We must be World Champions tomorrow'."