Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn has admitted the team will have no excuses next season if they fail to compete for regular points.
Her statement comes after Sauber was acquired by Longbow Finance in July following uncertainty over the team’s finances which hampered their development on this season’s car.
At one stage it looked as though Sauber would not finish the 2016 season but after Longbow’s intervention, the Swiss team can now focus on developing the C35’s weaknesses whilst pushing full steam ahead on the design and development of their 2017 car.
“Our focus is to get back to business as normal,” Kaltenborn told Autosport.
“We need to focus not just on how to survive the next day but to think longer term and get the most out of the car,” she added.
The team will bring their first upgrades this season to the next Grand Prix in Belgium after they had to be shelved through a lack of funds. As a result, the Sauber boss is not giving up on 2016 just yet even if attention has turned to the new design for next year.
“I’m convinced you can still get things out of this year’s car but then focus on next year’s car,” she claimed.
“There are no excuses not to be good next year. We’re not saying we want to be right on top next year, but we know what we can do.
“We have the infrastructure for it and we have the people so why should we not have that ambition?”
Sauber is yet to score a point in 2016 and it’s highly unlikely they will do so in the remainder of the season but with a good budget and team stability, they stand a real chance at bouncing back next season.
