By Jamie Makin (11/4/2004)
April 11 2004

Following their all-time best fourth place in the Constructors Championship in 2001, team SAUBER PETRONAS has been sliding steadily down the grid. Their 2002 goal to beat Renault was not met, neither was their 2003 goal of scoring 40 championship points. Team principal, Peter Sauber, decided to take a more cautious approach to 2004. "Our goal for 2004 is to clearly increase our performance."

He elaborated further by saying, "How well we'll be able to do this primarily depends on how quickly we'll be able to translate the results of our wind tunnel work to the race track." But he did not define exactly what "improved performance" means.

One interpretation would be to construct a faster car. The team's sleek new C23 has already proven quicker than its predecessor, the C22. Qualifying times set at this year's Australian Grand Prix were 101% quicker than 2003 times, and Malaysia saw an impressive 103% improvement. A new rule mandating long-life engines has clearly not gotten in the way of going faster.

The second interpretation of "improved performance" could be to score more championship points. A faster car should result in better finishes. This is where the team has really fallen short this year though, picking up only one point in the first three races. At the same point in the 2003 season, they had already scored in every race for a total of eight points. Their average finishing position (not including DNF's) at this point in 2003 was 7th place. That average has fallen to 10.4 so far this year.

Sauber's gap to championship-winning team Ferrari has also widened considerably. In 2003, Sauber qualified one second behind them in Australia and only half a second behind them in Malaysia. For 2004, the deficit grew to three seconds in Australia and two seconds in Malaysia. Sauber's average grid position of 7.5 in the first three 2003 races has dropped to 12.0 in 2004.

Why are Sauber struggling to qualify and finish well despite having a quicker car? Quite simply because the other teams have improved more than they have. Overall reliability of all teams has gone up, so Sauber has gained less places due to attrition. Renault and BAR-Honda have also matured as teams to move up to consistently run with the leading pack. Peter Sauber foresaw these difficulties before the season started. "Certainly, the presence of seven automotive manufacturers has made the competition in Formula One fiercer than ever, but we're ready to accept this challenge," he warned at the launch of the C23. The team has accepted the challenge, but has yet to excel at it.

The economic climate of Formula One is making it increasingly difficult for a small privateer team like Sauber to compete with the better funded factory efforts. If Sauber is to meet their stated goal of improved performance, they are going to have to squeeze every ounce of potential out of their manpower and equipment to close the gap to the top teams. Sauber is currently ranked 6th in the Constructors Championship, but is in great danger of slipping to 8th if factory teams Jaguar and Toyota start to score points. That is quite a long fall from the glory days of 2001.

---