Yet to score a point in 2014, Sauber have struggled in the first half of the season. In a similar manner, the Swiss-based outfit only picked up seven points in the opening ten rounds of the 2013 championship however an improvement of form in the second-half of the season saw Nico Hülkenberg pick up fifty points pushing Sauber into seventh in the constructors’ championship. Their improve of form was mainly due to the change in tyre specification prior to the German Grand Prix after several tyre failures and explosions took place at Silverstone raising safety concerns. Sauber will be hoping for a similar improvement in fortunes this season.
Financial troubles surrounded Sauber throughout 2013 season which impacted which drivers they would sign for 2014. Nico Hülkenberg left the team for fellow midfield runners Force India whilst Esteban Gutierrez was retained. 30-year old Adrian Sutil was announced as their second driver. The German had spent all his career at Spyker/Force India meaning this was the first time the German drove for a team not based at Silverstone. Gutierrez struggled in 2013, often qualifying on average one second behind teammate Nico Hülkenberg thus had a lot to prove going into 2014.
From as early as pre-season testing it was apparent the Sauber C33 did not have the speed or performance compared to its rivals (Toro Rosso, Force India, Wiliams). Their pre-season form materialised throughout the first ten rounds of the 2014 championship often failing to make it into the second segment of qualifying. It had been reported Sauber’s car was too heavy (during pre-season and the fly-away races) which ultimately was hampering the performance of their car. An upgrade package at the Spanish Grand Prix did not improve their fortunes with Gutierrez finishing sixteenth and Sutil finishing one place behind in seventeenth.
Their best chance of points came at the Monaco Grand Prix as there was several retirements. Esteban Gutierrez was set to score the teams first points of the season as he was running in eighth behind the Williams of Felipe Massa however the Mexican made a mistake on the exit of Rascasse ending his race. Marussia’s Jules Bianchi ended up finishing ninth – scoring their maiden points in Formula One demoting Sauber to tenth in the constructor’s championship behind Marussia.
Sauber will be hoping for an improved level of performance in the second half of the season however with fairly error-prone drivers and a poor car it is unlikely they will have much to shout about come the season finale ”Abu Double” at the end of the season. They will be hoping for a manic race where several front-running drivers retire opening opportunities for the likes of Sauber, Caterham and Marussia to score points.
Adrian Sutil 0 points/ 17th in Driver’s Championship
Due to the poor performance of the C33, it is difficult to assess the performances of both Sutil and Gutierrez in terms of results however in comparison to each other it has been fairly close. Sutil’s best finish came last-time out at the Hungarian Grand Prix where he finished eleventh – within a second of Jenson Button in tenth. Other than that, Sutil has endured a lacklustre season plagued by reliability and mistakes. Despite being 6-4 down in qualifying compared to his younger teammate, Sutil has the upper-hand come Sunday afternoons.
Speculation regarding the future of Adrian Sutil emerged prior to the German Grand Prix where reports indicated Sauber reserve driver Giedo van der Garde would replace Sutil for the remainder of the season. These reports failed to materialise however Sutil is under-pressure to perform with the Dutchman waiting in the wings.
Esteban Gutierrez 0 points/ 20th in Driver’s Championship
Gutierrez is in his second season of Formula One however due to the poor performance of the C33 it is difficult to assess if the Mexican has improved on his 2013 performance. The 21-year old was taken out at the Bahrain Grand Prix by Pastor Maldonado followed by two consecutive sixteenth places at Sakhir and Shanghai. He was set to score the teams first points of the season at Monaco however he made a mistake at Rascasse forcing him to retire. With a Mexican Grand Prix on the horizon, the boy from Monterrey will be hoping he can retain his seat for 2015 and drive in front of his home faithful – he will certainly need to make the most of any further opportunities which he failed to do at Monaco.
Due to the financial backing he brings to the team, it is unlikely that he will be replaced mid-season.
Race Results this season:
Sutil is the top row with Gutierrez being the second row.
| AUS | MAL | BAH | CHI | SPA | MON | CAN | AUS | BRI | GER | HUN |
| 11 | DNF | DNF | DNF | 17 | DNF | 13 | 13 | 13 | DNF | 11 |
| 12 | DNF | DNF | 16 | 16 | DNF | 14 | 19 | DNF | 14 | DNF |
Performances Comparison so far this season:-
| Adrian Sutil | Esteban Gutierrez | |
| Qualified ahead | 4 | 6 |
| Average qualifying gap | -0.176s | +0.176s |
| Finished race ahead | 3 | 1 |
| Laps spent ahead | 269 | 150 |
Looking ahead to the remainder of the 2014 season, primary Sauber need to improve the performance of their car however due to strict budget restrictions it is likely the Hinwil based team have turned their attentions to their 2015 challenger. Both drivers would be seen as under-threat in terms of securing a 2015 drive with many other young drivers in junior formulae waiting in the wings for an opportunity. Personally, I expect Sauber to score points at some stage of the season however it will probably be down to luck rather than the pure performance of their car or drivers. So far, the first half of the 2014 season has been one to forget and it is unlikely to improve in the second half of the season.
