Ferrari could make Sauber an F1 proving ground for juniors
Ferrari would like to develop its relationship with Sauber to form a Formula 1 proving ground for its young drivers.
Running young talent wasn’t part of the deal that secured Sauber Ferrari engines for 2018, but Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne is keen to find space in F1 for Antonio Giovinazzi and Charles Leclerc.
“[Sauber becoming a Ferrari junior team] is an excellent idea, and something we are working on,” he told Autosport.
“We need space because we have a couple of young drivers that are exceptional.
“We need to find a place to lay the foundations for the Scuderia Ferrari of tomorrow.”
Ferrari currently has six drivers in its academy, not including third driver Giovinazzi.
The academy has been running since 2009, but only two drivers – Sergio Perez and Jules Bianchi – have taken the step up to F1 whilst under the FDA banner. In comparison, Red Bull, who has had junior team Toro Rosso in F1 since 2006, has helped 11 junior drivers make the jump to F1.
Sauber team boss Frederic Vasseur says running a young driver would “make sense” for the team, though he believes it’s too early to talk about driver changes.
“As a team, it would make sense to have someone like Leclerc or other young drivers,” he told Autosport.
“It is a bit too early to speak about driver, to be honest.
“We had to close the [engine] deal quite quickly. It would be a mistake to mix the drivers into the discussion.”
Vasseur believes September would be a “good target” for Sauber to have its 2018 driver line-up sorted.