Sauber F1 team opts against taking Ferrari's power-unit upgrade

Sauber has no plans to run Ferrari's latest-specification engine at any point this Formula 1 season, because the penalties it will incur will be too severe

Ferrari used its final three development tokens on an upgrade that was introduced at Monza but only the works team and customer Haas's drivers took a new ICE, turbo and MGU-H.

If Sauber's Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr changed all three of those elements, they would each be handed a 20-place grid penalty.

That would severely hamper Sauber, which is desperate to score points and elevate itself above Manor into 10th in the constructors' championship over the remaining six grands prix.

"The call has been made by the engineers, sitting together with Ferrari," said team boss Monisha Kaltenborn. "They have their valid reasons.

"You have to weigh the penalty you get with what you are getting in return.

"We do not want to risk a penalty, because that would be very tough."

NO RESERVE IS 'AN ISSUE'

Sauber's lack of F1 reserve driver was highlighted following a freak accident for Ericsson last Saturday, when he hit a chicken while cycling in Thailand.

The Swede, who was travelling at nearly 30mph, escaped with bruising and cuts and says he is clear to race this weekend in Malaysia.

Sauber had a situation in Canada in 2011 when Perez felt unwell in first practice, having spent two days in hospital after being concussed in a crash during Monaco Grand Prix qualifying.

Perez missed the remainder of the weekend and as Sauber had no reserve, it brought in Pedro de la Rosa, who was then McLaren's reserve but had raced for Sauber in 2010.

Kaltenborn said Sauber would have "an issue" if one of its drivers was injured and unable to race, having not replaced 2015 reserve Raffaele Marciello.

"We had a similar situation a few of years ago when we didn't have a reserve driver," she said.

"These are tricky situations. We really would have an issue right now.

"We used to look at the Ferrari reserve drivers, if someone could come [from] there.

"Had he [Ericsson] been injured more severely, we would have had quite a big issue.

"At the moment we are not covered."

Kaltenborn added it is Sauber's intention to have a reserve in place next season, with discussions running in parallel with those focused on race drivers.

shares
comments

Lance Stroll closes on 2017 Williams Formula 1 race deal

Fernando Alonso: 300 F1 starts easier to reach for modern drivers

How Tsunoda has eliminated a crucial F1 limitation

How Tsunoda has eliminated a crucial F1 limitation

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Japanese GP
GP Racing

How Tsunoda has eliminated a crucial F1 limitation How Tsunoda has eliminated a crucial F1 limitation

How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again

How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Japanese GP
GP Racing

How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again

Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge

Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
GP Racing

Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge

Why Sainz’s Singapore F1 success was not just about DRS genius

Why Sainz’s Singapore F1 success was not just about DRS genius

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Jonathan Noble

Why Sainz’s Singapore F1 success was not just about DRS genius Why Sainz’s Singapore F1 success was not just about DRS genius

 The signs that suggest an immediate Red Bull resurgence in F1's Japanese GP

The signs that suggest an immediate Red Bull resurgence in F1's Japanese GP

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Alex Kalinauckas

The signs that suggest an immediate Red Bull resurgence in F1's Japanese GP The signs that suggest an immediate Red Bull resurgence in F1's Japanese GP

The lessons Russell can take from his "two-centimetre" Singapore F1 mistake

The lessons Russell can take from his "two-centimetre" Singapore F1 mistake

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Jake Boxall-Legge

The lessons Russell can take from his "two-centimetre" Singapore F1 mistake The lessons Russell can take from his "two-centimetre" Singapore F1 mistake

Singapore Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Singapore Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Alex Kalinauckas

Singapore Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023 Singapore Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

The Singapore secrets that helped Sainz end Verstappen's F1 winning streak

The Singapore secrets that helped Sainz end Verstappen's F1 winning streak

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Jake Boxall-Legge

The Singapore secrets that helped Sainz end Verstappen's F1 winning streak The Singapore secrets that helped Sainz end Verstappen's F1 winning streak

Subscribe