The high-stakes design theory that Sauber hopes is key to 2024 F1 progress
Sauber has taken the covers off its Stake-backed C44 at a ceremony in London, revealing some pre-season design secrets that are certain to catch the eyes of its rivals
Jake Boxall-Legge
Edited:
Bare carbon and neon green flashes might suggest a car designed entirely within the confines of mid-2000s-teenager-with-a-Playstation 2 staple Need For Speed: Underground 2, but that's the playbook that Sauber has opted for with its first non-Alfa Romeo-influenced livery since 2017.
Like the latter days of that partnership, the team has elected to get away with painting as little of the car as possible, breaking up the carbon weave with lashings of green paint. If this was 2003 and devoid of the context of current design philosophies, it might be quite a cool look; instead, the current artistic movement of 'art d'not painting the car' makes it appear as though Shrek has sneezed over a wind tunnel model and the graphic design department just went with it.
Okay, perhaps that's a tad uncharitable, but the reason people started scaling back on paint was to save a bit of weight when the initial clutch of 2022-spec Formula 1 cars tipped the scales slightly more than they should have. But this has now opened a can of worms where most cars should now be underweight, but the engineers would rather have the extra ballast than make the multi-million-pound highly experimental automotive machinery actually look presentable. The 2017 season, arguably the most colourful in contemporary F1, feels like a very long time ago.
But you're not here for an artistic critique, are you? Maybe you are, and you're hoping for a breakdown of the artistic flair shown by each team, with criticism delivered with the pinpoint precision of Marcus Wareing tucking into a ponzu-marinated duck breast on MasterChef.
However, the chances are that you've clicked this hoping for some musings on the car itself, and then plan to subsequently escape to Reddit and say "get a load of this guy, describing the launch car. It's probably not even the real one!". Or you're just genuinely interested in playing the yearly game of Spot the Difference. And for you, we can certainly oblige.
The technical department at Sauber's Hinwil base was bolstered by the addition of James Key, who had previously held the role of technical director at the Swiss squad between 2010 and 2012 before moving to Toro Rosso and later McLaren. The Briton departed McLaren amid a reshuffle in the engineering department at Woking but will offer Sauber some crucial expertise.
Switched to a pull-rod suspension layout for 2024 marks a notable departure for Sauber
Photo by: Sauber F1 Team
One aspect noticeable from the renders of the all-new C44 pertains to the front suspension as Sauber has switched to a pull-rod layout for 2024. With the push-rod rear suspension package that was already in place, the team has settled upon the same set-up that Red Bull employed in its RB19. In theory, there's no distinct advantage to selecting a pull-rod over a push-rod; but it ends up being largely a decision influenced by the aerodynamics of the car.
Push-rods became the norm for having a slightly more agreeable local aerodynamic advantage, but there is an inescapable centre-of-gravity benefit to running the torsion bars lower down in the monocoque with the pull-rod layout. It's all a trade-off, and Sauber appears to believe that keeping the centre of gravity low is much more beneficial, a choice no doubt influenced by the performance shown by the underbody in simulations.
To enhance the underbody flow, Sauber has handed its sidepods a heavy undercut treatment; like Red Bull, the leading edge of the inlet features an 'underbite' to serve as a clear delineation between the airflow for the inlet and that to be sent around the car's midriff. The sidepods feature a bulge on the underside, like that of a pelican's gullet, and there are likely two reasons for this.
On top of the sidepods, Sauber has continued to persist with the prevailing downwash trend, opting for a small tweak over its 2023 design by creating a slight channel along the upper surface
This helps maximise the space for any radiators planted within the confines of the bodywork, but should also restrict any production of lift created by the heavy sidepod undercut. There's the added bonus that it increases the space for the Stake logo, so there's that too...
The scope of the undercut puts one in mind of the Toro Rosso designs from the early 2010s, when it began to experiment with chiselling away at the transition to the floor to open up more useable space. In that, it doesn't quite emulate the extremities of the Ferrari F92A and its double floor, but the overall concept isn't so different. Opening up the top of the floor more results in more control over the pressure differences between the topside of the car and the Venturi tunnels underneath, as having more car on top of the floor limits what the aerodynamicists can do with it.
On top of the sidepods, Sauber has continued to persist with the prevailing downwash trend, opting for a small tweak over its 2023 design by creating a slight channel along the upper surface. This is not as extreme as the examples seen on last year's Aston Martin or Alpine, but should assist with controlling the airflow along the upper face and reducing the chances of it spilling over.
There's little detail shown along the floor, and one is reticent to make too many prognostications about it given last year's trickery, in which a serrated floor treatment was shown in the renders purely to fake people out. Instead, it looks like a slightly modified version of last year's design, so one expects this is something of a placeholder.
The rear wing appears to be a placeholder for now as it lacks the developments Sauber sported as Alfa Romeo in 2023
Photo by: Sauber F1 Team
This may also be the case with the rear wing, which looks somewhat generic on the launch renders, lacking in the developments that the team had been seen sporting last season. With the trends moving towards exposing the upper wing element's tips to induce vorticity, one suspects Sauber may be hiding its true version.
With its new identity, a Sauber hallmark seen on and off since 2017 has not been included in the new car. Through 2017 to 2019, the team employed a bladed roll-hoop, with the intakes positioned on either side - a design seen sporadically in the early 2010s but never received widespread popularity. This was restored on the 2022 and 2023 cars, after two seasons spent with a triangular airbox, but the team has switched to a more conventional rounded rectangular shape. This features the rollhoop structuring, which can also be employed to split the airflow to differing power unit components.
Much has changed at the Sauber team amid its rebrand to the incongruous "Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber" title, a stop-gap until the team metamorphoses into the full Audi works effort in 2026. It feels as though the next two seasons border on nothing more than the transitional, and that the majority of the focus will be on kicking off the next era with full force.
But there's little that precludes the team from making a go of things now, particularly when it comes to the quality of its technical operation and the still-quick Valtteri Bottas heading up the driving side of the team. The mullet-toting Finn stated that "the objectives need to be lofty" as he embarks upon his third year with the team, adding that "my own expectations are high".
F1, after all, does not stand still; the team cannot simply fast-forward to 2026 and enjoy its status as a manufacturer entity. It must perform now rather than tread water, lest it be caught again in a lower-midfield struggle against the tide. With a brazen new livery it's certainly planted a Stake in the ground, but this year it must Kick on in the right direction - or risk wasting another year towards the back...
As it enters something of an interim period before Audi's arrival for 2026, Sauber will be eager to keep pace with the opposition
Photo by: Sauber F1 Team
The F1 power unit formula solution that could suit all parties
Formula 1
The F1 power unit formula solution that could suit all parties
How Formula 1 driving has changed – and stayed the same
Formula 1
How Formula 1 driving has changed – and stayed the same
How Williams aims to reach "a sensible position" in F1 2026 after double-score Miami
Formula 1
How Williams aims to reach "a sensible position" in F1 2026 after double-score Miami
Why Haas fears loss of ground to Alpine in F1's upper-midfield battle
Formula 1
Why Haas fears loss of ground to Alpine in F1's upper-midfield battle
How F1's planned 60-40 power split for 2027 will affect each manufacturer
Formula 1
How F1's planned 60-40 power split for 2027 will affect each manufacturer
Aston Martin's plans for F1 2026 after upgrade-free Miami
Formula 1
Miami GP
Aston Martin's plans for F1 2026 after upgrade-free Miami
The intrigue sparked by Red Bull's Miami sidepod design
Formula 1
Miami GP
The intrigue sparked by Red Bull's Miami sidepod design
F1 2026 might be flawed, but Miami showed why it's also enjoyable
Formula 1
Miami GP
F1 2026 might be flawed, but Miami showed why it's also enjoyable
How GM tech accelerated Cadillac's F1 entry
Formula 1
Canadian GP
How GM tech accelerated Cadillac's F1 entry
MotoGP chief defends officiating of Catalan GP
MotoGP
Barcelona Official Testing
MotoGP chief defends officiating of Catalan GP
The F1 power unit formula solution that could suit all parties
Feature
Formula 1
The F1 power unit formula solution that could suit all parties
How Aprilia's Barcelona collapse showed the pressures of leading MotoGP's title race
Feature
MotoGP
Barcelona Official Testing
How Aprilia's Barcelona collapse showed the pressures of leading MotoGP's title race
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Subscribe now
Already subscribed? Sign in here
Top Comments