This is the new livery that Sauber will race this season and the first impressions are, its looks fantastic! It reminds me of the classic 1993 car with the dark graphite style.
The C32 was revealed in an event at the team’s Hinwil headquarters in Switzerland. Sauber hopes that this new car will continue last season’s success – which included four podium finishes and sixth in the constructors’ championship – in the upcoming Formula 1 season.
Sauber team boss Monisha Kaltenborn said that given last year’s results, Sauber wanted to build on the previous car’s strong points rather than starting afresh.
“I’m very excited, but also a little tense,” she said. “The aim is very clear and simple: we want to continue to improve ourselves.
“The Sauber C32 is based on its predecessor, which was a very competitive car.
“It had a lot of strengths and some weaknesses, and our engineers have worked to build on those strengths and eliminate the weaknesses.”
Sauber also has an all-new driver line-up for 2013, with Nico Hulkenberg joining from Force India while the team’s test driver Esteban Gutierrez has been promoted to the race seat.
Follow the team and drivers on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/OfficialSF1Team
https://twitter.com/NicoHulkenberg
https://twitter.com/EstebanGtz
News articles on the C32 launch:
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/02/02/sauber-c32-launch-pictures/
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/2/14233.html
http://en.espnf1.com/sauber/motorsport/story/99730.html
Esteban Gutierrez says his aim for 2013 is to “be consistent at a good competitive level”.
Gutierrez is making his F1 debut for Sauber after finishing third in GP2 last year. He says he feels “very calm” ahead of his Grand Prix debut next month.
The team will begin testing their new C32 next week. Gutierrez says his focus is to “keep my mind clear for the tests so I can give my best feedback to the team, as it is a very important development stage in preparation for the races”.
“In the beginning the most important task is to solve all the car’s reliability issues so we can put in a lot of laps in the tests,” he added. “Then, of course, another important factor is to get to know the car in race and qualifying conditions, which mainly comes with experience during the first races.”
Gutierrez will partner Nico Hulkenberg at Sauber this year, who also drove for ART in junior categories, which Gutierrez believes will be an advantage: “Nico has a similar working mentality to mine as prior to making it to Formula One we have raced in the same teams for a similar amount of time in the lower categories.”
Source: F1Fanatic.co.uk
Interview with Monisha Kaltenborn. As taken from F1.com:
Four podium finishes and 126 world championship points made the 2012 season a highly successful one for Sauber. It’s a performance the Swiss team are now looking to build on and thus continue on their upward curve. Team principal Monisha Kaltenborn gives her thoughts on the issues of the moment as their new car is unveiled ahead of pre-season testing…
Q: Ms Kaltenborn, in three days the Sauber C32-Ferrari will turn its first wheel out on the track. What are your feelings going into the roll-out?
Monisha Kaltenborn: I’m very excited. The roll-out of a new car is a very special moment every year. It’s something you’ve been working towards for almost a year and then you get your first impressions of how good a job you’ve done. Everyone in the team is excited about this moment, because everyone has played their part in it.
Q: What are your expectations?
MK: This is another of those questions one is asked every year, and it’s always a tricky one to answer. What I can say is that we’re well prepared, that we’ve got the new car finished in good time and that we’ve met the performance targets we set ourselves internally. That puts us in a confident frame of mind. But we’ll only really find out what it all amounts to at the first race of the season in Melbourne.
Q: This is the first time you’re approaching a new season in the role of team principal. Is that a special situation for you?
MK: Yes and no. On the one hand, not that much has changed for me since I took on the role, because I was already involved in a lot of things beforehand – like the team principal meetings, which I’ve been attending for some time already. On the other hand, it is still something special because now all the responsibility rests on my shoulders. And that creates a certain extra pressure, of course.
Q: What are your aims for the forthcoming season?
MK: We put some good foundations in place last year. And now we want to build on that base and continue to improve as a team.
Q: What does that mean exactly? Are you targeting fifth place in the constructors’ world championship?
MK: We’re not saying we want to finish in this or that position in the standings, as ultimately other factors will also come into play that are outside our control. What we can be clear about, however, is that we want to continue on our upward curve.
Q: What do you expect from your drivers?
MK: Esteban Gutierrez’s relationship with the team goes back to 2010, and we have introduced him steadily to the world of Formula One. Now he is ready to take the final step. We expect him to learn quickly and turn his considerable talent into good results. Nico Hulkenberg has impressed us on many occasions, not only with his speed but, most importantly, by how efficiently he has driven. It is this level of efficiency that we hope to see this year again. And, of course, we expect him to contribute his technical experience. I’m in no doubt that we have a strong driver pairing in place. As for Robin Frijns, our test and reserve driver, this year is quite simply about learning as much as possible.
Q&A with Sauber’s Hulkenberg & Gutierrez. Taken from F1.com:
Sauber field an all-new driver line-up for 2013. Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg arrives on a high, having led much of the final race of 2012 in Brazil, where he ultimately finished fifth for Force India. And Mexican team mate Esteban Gutierrez, third in last season’s GP2 Series, steps up from Sauber’s reserve role to make his F1 race debut…
Q: Nico, Esteban, the start of the 2013 Formula One season is approaching. Is the adrenaline pumping yet?
Nico Hulkenberg: Not yet, no. The moment before the first race in Melbourne will definitely be the one to quicken the pulse!
Esteban Gutierrez: Not really, as I feel very calm at the moment. My goal is to focus on the most important things in my preparation, and then before Melbourne I’m quite sure we will all have the adrenaline pumping to the maximum.
Q: How did the winter preparations go?
NH: Very good. It was the ideal combination of a two-week training camp and intensive fitness training.
EG: The winter preparations went really well. Apart from all my training back home, I also had the chance to spend very good days in Austria in December and January concentrating on my physical preparation, mainly based on winter sports like cross-country skiing, climbing through the snow, etc.
Q: What are your expectations of the Sauber team?
NH: We need to build on the solid basis of last year and reach some good results. But it is a whole new season: New game, new luck! We really have to wait and see what happens when we hit the track for the first time. And then we’ll take it from there.
EG: With the progress the team has made in the previous years, I expect that as a team we will keep going in this same direction in order to reach our goals.
Q: Do you appreciate the close relationships the Sauber team nurtures with its fans?
NH: Fans are an essential part of sport in general. If you receive so much fan mail, it does touch you personally. I am really trying to answer everything.
EG: Yes definitely, I think that to share all experiences, both failures and victories, with the fans is the way to make sure all the energies coming from our supporters are positive.
Q: Tests involve a lot of hard graft. How do you prepare yourself?
NH: Physical fitness and intensive work with the engineers. But actually I am just looking forward to finally sitting in the car.
EG: Mainly by keeping my mind clear for the tests so I can give my best feedback to the team, as it is a very important development stage in preparation for the races.
Q: How long does it actually take to adjust to a new car?
NH: It is a mix of different factors. It takes a couple of days until every detail is right. Usually the adjustment process is completed when the first race is about to start.
EG: In the beginning the most important task is to solve all the car’s reliability issues so we can put in a lot of laps in the tests. Then, of course, another important factor is to get to know the car in race and qualifying conditions, which mainly comes with experience during the first races.
Q: How well do you actually know your team mate?
NH: We have not got to know each other very well so far, but we met in the paddock every now and then and I value him as a team mate.
EG: I know that Nico has a similar working mentality to mine as prior to making it to Formula One we have raced in the same teams for a similar amount of time in the lower categories.
Q: What will be the greatest (sporting) challenge of the upcoming season?
NH: To show a consistent good performance at every single race.
EG: To be consistent at a good competitive level.