"Sauber: The Dark Horse?"

The following extracts are from an excellent article by Adam Cooper, Autosport's Editor-at-Large. It appeared in the 26th March 1998 issue of the UK's premier weekly motorsport magazine and is reproduced by kind permission of the editor, Mark Skewis.

Who would spring the start of season surprises?

Going into the Australian Grand Prix a host of tantalising possibilities were thrown up, yet would anyone truly spring a surprise? Logic suggested that McLaren, Williams, Ferrari and Benetton would be out on their own, with Jordan probably leading the chase. After that it was anyone's guess as to who would get it right Prost, Arrows, Sauber, Stewart, or maybe even Tyrrell?

In the event, though, we all got a bit of a shock. Not only was it Johnny Herbert leading the chase of the "big four" but his Sauber-Petronas was right up there in fifth place on the grid, and third in the "Goodyear race" beaten by only Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve. Indeed, he was only bumped off the second row by Jacques in the dying minutes of qualifying. And just to really set everyone thinking, Johnny was seven places and almost 1.9 seconds ahead of new team-mate Jean Alesi...

Herbert on great form

Herbert is clearly on great form right now, and he also likes Melbourne. Last year he qualified an impressive seventh but, despite that guide, no one expected a repeat. Sauber had enjoyed a relatively quiet winter and there had been no reports of sensational testing times. Indeed just a fortnight before Oz Herbert seemed in downbeat mood, convinced that the package would not be as strong as last year's.

Of course, in 1997 he didn't get a chance to show his strength in the first race, ending his day in the first corner gravel after the notorious clash with Villeneuve and Eddie Irvine. This time, Herbert got through the first turn unscathed and spent virtually the whole distance stuck behind Jacques and, for the first part of the race, Giancarlo Fisichella. Unable to pass, he couldn't show his real pace so in the circumstances was disappointed to come away with a single point. But, in truth, did the Swiss team expect to be battling with the World Champion's Williams throughout the weekend?

Better than expected for Sauber-Petronas

"We were little bit surprised, yes," admits technical director Leo Ress, although we expected to do better than last year. Williams is the only team which went slower compared to last year, which means the reference is a little bit difficult this year. But it's important that we could also right with the Benetton and Ferrari.

"It's a good sign for the beginning, but the Melbourne circuit is so special. To make any prediction for the rest of the season is difficult," Ress adds. "You remember last year, we were quite lucky for the first race, and then came Brazil, Argentina... We have to get through the first three or four races and see how Jean is going, and then we can really judge where we are. We need more time."

1998 should see a step forward

Recent Saubers have appeared to have certain built-in characteristics: they don't go well in qualifying trim, they have terminal understeer, and they don't respond to changes. Ress says that this year's Cl7 is a step up from its predecessors, and that ideas he's tried and abandoned in the past are now working.

One indication that the team is stepping up a gear this year is that Ress intends to come to all the races. In the past he's been seen only rarely at the circuits, a la John Barnard, preferring to concentrate on R&D back home. But he's now accepted that there's no substitute for seeing everything first hand.

There are other changes to the team this season, as once again Sauber has tried to bring in fresh blood from outside. Building a Formula 1 car in Switzerland is no easy task, and the team has often been criticised for failing to employ enough outside help, although there has been quite a turnover of overseas personnel. The latest Anglo-Saxon recruits are on the engineering side: Tim Preston, who looked after Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Williams last year, will oversee the test team, while Andy Tilley, late of Lotus, Minardi, Benetton and Jordan, is chief engineer at the races, and both bring valuable experience. It's clear that the test programme will step up a gear; indeed, Sauber has already tried a McLaren-style extra brake, albeit only for a couple of laps so far.

Ress is convinced that the team can make a step forward. "The car has more potential," he says. "It has improved in some areas, although some are still the same. Maybe Jean or our new race engineers can help a little bit there. At the moment the basic handling is still the same; Johnny developed the car to his driving style so Jean had quite a few problems in Melbourne. He didn't do much on Friday and when he started to push in qualifying there was just not enough time to improve. He tried Johnny's settings and we were absolutely lost! I think we need more time to develop the car for Jean'

Alesi struggles

Alesi readily admits that he didn't get his act together in Australia, and while most observers quickly drew their conclusions from the massive time gap to Herbert, Jean was actually delighted to see his team mate near the front.

"We have to separate the things," says Alesi. "I'm working for Sauber. It's fantastic for the first race what happened, because Johnny did an incredible job. It's not by luck, because the car is well designed. We are a little bit down with the engine, for example, if you compare with a team like Prost. But on the engineering side it's a very good car. However, what is going on for me really is nothing, you know."

So was his struggle all related to set-up? "It's a little bit of everything," Alesi replies. "You need to decide the direction to go when you start the weekend. What I was doing in the past with other teams doesn't work with this car. So now we will try to go in a different direction. We need to do some testing."

Different styles for different team-mates

Does that mean his driving style is incompatible with Herbert's? "I don't think it's just the style, it's also the way to use the engine and the car. With Gerhard [Berger] we had a different driving style but at the end we knew each other so well I knew what was working for him but not for me. However, now I don't know what is working for Johnny and not for me. For me, the next step is just to be able to have a good set-up."

Alesi had a relatively lonely run on race day, and it ended early with an engine failure - "I was learning everything slowly." It was his first real chance to get to grips with the car and the 41 laps he ran seemed to do him some good.

"We watched him very carefully during the race," says Ress. "The first 10 laps he was struggling, a good section time here, a good section time there. After the 10th lap he improved every lap in all sections. He told us afterwards that during the race he was taught how to drive the car and learned a lot. Sure he needs more of an oversteering car, but in the end I don't think it will be such a big difference. He had the same problem when he went to Benetton, driving a car that was made for Schumacher. But he can go fast when the car really fits his driving style!"

Is this truly a new beginning?

As Ress says, we shall know more about Sauber's true form after the next few races. Herbert was a regular top 10 qualifier in the first half of last season until fading away, and it could be that in Melbourne Sauber was flattered by the poor showings of other less prepared rivals. Whatever happens, it will be fascinating to see if Alesi can match Herbert.

"I'm a lot disappointed," said the Frenchman in Oz, "because I wanted to also be a part of the party..."

The above article extracts is reproduced by kind permission of Autosport.
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This page prepared 29th March 1998.