Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn has a lot of confidence in the 2016 Ferrari power unit the team will be using for the upcoming season.
Sauber had a good 2015 season thanks to the huge progress made by Ferrari on their 2015 power unit, scoring 36 points and finishing ninth in the constructors’ championship. This was a massive jump in performance compared to their pointless 2014 season. The jump in performance was put down to the improvements Ferrari made on their power unit as Sauber had very few chassis differences compared to their 2014 car.
Reports coming out of Ferrari in this offseason suggest the Italian outfit have made even further improvements to their power unit. The confidence Ferrari has in their own 2016 season has led to Kaltenborn’s confidence in Sauber’s ability to score regular points in 2016 also.
Kaltenborn said to Motorsport.com, “I am confident, they [Ferrari] have already shown in 2015 the step they took,”
“You can’t expect miracles, the gap [to Mercedes] is so big that you have to take it step-by-step, and you also have to look at the reliability.
“But I think they have done a very good job, and I have all reasons to have no doubts, or rather to have the belief that they are going to take the next step.”
Despite her confidence in the new Ferrari power unit, Kaltenborn understands overhauling the Mercedes-powered teams like Force India and Williams may be out of Sauber’s reach due to the headstart these teams had.
“I think the teams which had the Mercedes engines in the first year, when this engine [formula] came in could have a bigger benefit then you could have now,”
“Because simply the other teams were so far back, and that’s already closer. So yes, there can be a benefit, but definitely a smaller one than that time, because the differences are no longer so big.
“If Ferrari were to make that kind of step where they are couple of seconds away from the rest, then you could compare it to that, but that kind of advantage we are not going to have,”
Interestingly Monisha Kaltenborn has mentioned nothing about Sauber’s chassis or aero developments. Take of that what you will but if Sauber has once again failed to really improve the rest of the car they could find themselves falling behind McLaren and Manor, both of whom are expected to be better in the coming season.
