By Jamie Makin
March 3 2005

It has been a week of little actual news but lots of wild rumours concerning team SAUBER PETRONAS. First came the bombshell that they had signed the GPWC Memorandum of Understanding. Then right on its heels has come speculations that BMW could doing more than just supplying SAUBER engines, they could actually be buying the team. As monumental as all of this sounds, it is still a bit early to get too excited or concerned over it. GPWC as a series is still a far cry from reality but with all teams except Ferrari on board, it could essentially just replace Formula One instead of forcing a catastrophic split.

The BMW rumours have a more immediate impact. It looks to be about 99% certain that they will supply the Swiss squad with engines in 2006, although the team has yet to comment on it. I find it unusual that they have not even issued a press release "officially denying" it. As for the chances of a buyout, the rumour does have some merit but there's a lot of unknowns. A more probable answer is that BMW would be buying the shares of the team presently owned by Credit Suisse.

For fans of the team, this is a lot to digest. On one hand it's a given that SAUBER will need to partner with a manufacturer to move to the front of the field. Even Peter himself has admitted this. On the other hand, should SAUBER become a factory team it will be the end of an era for the most successful independent team of the present day. Then to further complicate things, Peter has also hinted that he believes the age of independent teams is soon to return to Formula One with the factories starting to withdraw. If he believes this and has positioned his team to take full advantage of it, then it makes absolutely no sense to consider selling the team to a manufacturer. So, the mystery deepens . . .

On a more tangible note, there has still been no announcement of a new sponsor to take Red Bull's place on the engine cover. No announcement, no rumours, nothing. Should there be a new deal in place, it will most likely be unveiled on Thursday or Friday of this week as teams prepare for the Australian Grand Prix.

And on that note, things come full circle to what Formula One is all about - the excitement of high-tech machines racing each other on some of the world's greatest circuits. It's time to finally cast aside all the off season rumours, politics and winter testing dramas to go racing!! Fans around the world are eagerly awaiting the moment that the V-10's surge to life and take to the track. We asked you, the fans, what you think of SAUBER's prospects for the year and here are the responses.

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What can I say. I knew its going to be an aggressive car but C24 was beyond my expectations. I love the small sidepods. Sauber have come up with excellence cooling system to overcome problems that might occurred with such small air inlet. The new livery is lovely, the more I look at it, the more I like it. The drivers pairing is sensational although I have some reservation at first regarding JV's signing to the team. But after I've seen how happy he is at Sauber, and the respect he shows for the team, I'm beginning to be one of his fan as well, just like I'm a fan of every single driver that has drove or will drive for my favorite team. The sponsors issue bugged me a bit but I'm confident before Melbourne the team will have a new sponsor to help the team move forward and perhaps winning one or two races along the way. I have no doubt this year will be Sauber's finest as with the wind tunnel working and albert helping. Teams like BAR, Renault, Williams and McLaren will see more of Sauber this year and surprise them good.

It's about time the handwork of more than 300 people at Hinwil being rewarded with more than occasional points scoring.

I would like to thank the whole team for showing others the reason why I am so proud to call myself Sauberian.

Like always... go Sauber!!!

Kluxorious
Malaysia

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From an aesthetic standpoint, the new chassis is beautiful. The sleek design, (especially the sculpted sidepods) connotes speed even when car is a rest! The initial test times are promising, however there is obviously significant amount of on-track development in the offing.

JEL
San Francisco, CA
USA

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My name is Thorsteinn Bjarki Ólafsson, from Iceland but my friends call me "Lognid" (that means calm wind).

I am Sauber fan, and mostly like this team because of how Peter Sauber have been building this team up and making some small steps in progress every year. I like his thinking. I am also much fan of Felipe Massa who I just liked from his first race in Petronas Malaysian grand prix where he was doing some driving mistakes but he did not give up. Well he had many crashes that year and some people thought he was dangerous on track, just like Sato last year. After Massa stayed with Ferrari for one year he came back very strong and very reliable as driver and have been improving much. I very much liked last years Sauber drivers. I just hope you can update in Sauber F1 history, most successful Sauber driver, pole position, race wins and best race finish (both drivers) after 2005 season. I have never liked Villeneuve much and was not happy when he signed contract with Sauber, but after winter testing and all the news I have read this winter about Villeneuve I believe he could be very good choice for the team specially if he and Massa will be friends and don´t waste there energy in some psycho war in newspapers. I think Sauber has great team spirit and that is there strongest weapons. I hope 2005 will give the team better results than 2004 in points and passion in team standing and hope for 4th-5th place and some podium finish.

I also want to thank you for your great website which I have been visiting 3-7 times every week for past 1 year. The best part of your web are news and history of Sauber. I newer use your message board as I prefer Icelandic message board for formula1 in Iceland on www.f1.is. Keep up your good work with this web!!!

Thorsteinn Bjarki Ólafsson
Iceland

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My name is John from Montréal, Canada. Yes I am a JV fan as you have already figured out by where I’m from. I have always liked SAUBER for many years, thought they were an honest hard working team. I was really happy when PS signed JV last year.

The C24 will be more competitive this year than the C23 last year. I think that the car will have a slow start again this year but then pick up speed as the season progresses. A podium finish should be in the works this year. The wrinkles will be ironed out during the first half of the season.

Massa will be quick this year, quicker than JV for the first third of the season. JV will get up to speed and be in front of Massa. With the new rules and 1 set of tires, JV is a master by saving tires and loves to drive twitchy cars. JV will be quick & bring a lot more to the table, he is one of the best car developers. This will help SAUBER immensely!

John
Montréal, Canada

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Thank you to everyone for the replies. We will offer you more chances to have your voice heard as the season goes on.

It is our hope that this season will see more fans come to the site and start to get to know each other while we build a new community of SAUBER fans. As always, if you have any suggestions for features you would like to see on Sauber Speak, just let us know.

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