Peter Sauber pins hopes on new season
Peter Sauber is preparing to start his twelfth season as head of the Swiss Formula One racing team, Sauber.
After two difficult years, the Zurich-based boss believes this year’s championship will see a revival for his team.
Team Sauber launched its new C23 racing car on Monday in “Hangar 7” at Salzburg airport in Austria.
A successful talent spotter (among them Michael Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Kimi Raikkonen), Peter Sauber has his hopes pinned this year on Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa to engineer the team’s return to form.
swissinfo caught up with the team boss at the launch.
swissinfo: How do you plan to bounce back after two frustrating seasons?
Peter Sauber: Considering the quality of our competitors, finishing fifth and sixth in the [constructors’] championship was not a disappointment. I can easily live with these results. However, we were very disappointed with the performance of the cars.
This season, everything has been done to ensure that our drivers have the best cars possible. We have worked very hard to improve the aerodynamics and the suspension.
swissinfo: And your cars will benefit for the first time from the same engine type as Ferrari…
P.S.: This is another reason why our team will be stronger, although I don’t think this will guarantee success. It will give us an advantage, certainly, but we have had good engines in previous years as well.
But in terms of psychological motivation, it is very important for our drivers to know they have the same material as Michael Schumacher at their disposal.
swissinfo: Sauber collaborates very closely with Ferrari. Are the ties set to become even stronger?
P.S.: We are very happy with the way we’ve managed to collaborate with Ferrari. We are now going to work together on testing tyres.
Three of the leading teams use Michelin tyres, so Ferrari – which uses Bridgestone tyres, as we do – needs our support and our data to help improve their performance.
swissinfo: So your two drivers, Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa, are going to test drive for Ferrari?
P.S.: Yes, but they don’t have a contract with Ferrari.
I’m counting on the drivers a lot this season. I’ve wanted Fisichella to rejoin our team for several years and that has now been arranged. He’s a driver who knows how to get the best out of his car.
Massa is back with us after a year as a test driver for Ferrari. He is naturally gifted and the time spent last season with Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello allowed him to make huge improvements in his technique.
I’m looking forward to seeing the drivers in action.
swissinfo-interview: Mathias Froidevaux in Salzburg
In the 1970s, Peter Sauber built his first racing car, called the C1, in which he became Swiss champion in his category.
Team Sauber competed in its first Formula One race on March 14 1993 in South Africa.
The team got its first podium position in 1995 at Monza in Italy, thanks to Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
Sauber had its best season in 2001, when it finished fourth in the constructors’ championships.
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