Sauber F1

Sauber are in trouble.

The Swiss team currently lie 10th in the constructors' championship, with no points to their name.

The C33 is probably the least-competitive car they have ever produced, and in Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez they have one of the weakest driver lineups on the grid.

It seems unlikely any great improvement is around the corner, and it's entirely conceivable they will go the entire year without scoring a point. Needless to say, that would be a disaster. It has never happened to them before.

Sauber have long defined "middle-of-the-road" in Formula One. In the 21 seasons since their debut in 1993, they've finished between fifth and eighth in the constructors' championship 18 times.

The exceptions were 2001 when they came fourth, and two of the seasons they spent under the control of BMW, which yielded second and third.

But now, Sauber are in danger of disappearing into the abyss of the back-markers for the first time in their existence.

If things get much worse, they could even go out of business.

How did it come to this?

The Sauber Story

Sauber began life in 1970. Peter Sauber, then the 27-year-old part-time racing driver and son of a businessman, set up shop as an independent sports car builder in Hinwil, Switzerland.

His company progressed to the highest level of sports cars, which at the time was the World Sportscar Championship. In 1982 the FIA introduced the Group C category, and in 1985 Mercedes made their return to the series—30 years after the 1955 Le Mans disaster, which sparked their withdrawal.

At first they supplied engines to Sauber, and the partnership progressed into a full works arrangement in 1988. Sauber-Mercedes, as the team were known, enjoyed great success with the C9 and C11.

The next step was Formula One.

Initially a joint entry between Sauber and Mercedes was planned, but the global recession in the early 1990s made the Mercedes management think again. The German giant took a back seat, quietly supporting Sauber in 1993 and providing funding to Ilmor to build the engines.

Mercedes put their name to the power plants in 1994, marking their return to F1 for the first time since 1955, but they departed to link up with McLaren at the end of the year.

Fortunately, Peter Sauber had already secured new partners to help his team move forward.

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz acquired a majority stake in the team and Sauber became the Ford team in 1995 and 1996. They also began what would become a lengthy relationship with Malaysian oil giant Petronas.

In 1997, Sauber began their link-up with Ferrari, which would later lead to Felipe Massa spending three years with the team. Though not especially successful, Sauber were what all midfield teams strive to be—comfortable.

Mateschitz was unhappy when Sauber chose Kimi Raikkonen over Red Bull-backed Enrique Bernoldi in 2001, but the transition from one partner to another was fairly smooth. Credit Suisse bought the shares in 2002.

But the deals mentioned above pale to insignificance when compared to Sauber's biggest tie-up to date.

In 2005, German motoring giant BMW bought a majority stake. The team was renamed BMW Sauber for 2006 and, for the first time in their history, Sauber had a taste of success.

Their best year was 2008. Sauber scored 11 podiums and Robert Kubica won the Canadian Grand Prix as the team finished just 37 points behind eventual constructors' champions Ferrari.

BMW Sauber were on the verge of becoming serious title contenders, but they didn't react well to sweeping regulation changes for the 2009 season. To make matters worse, the fallout from the global financial crisis was starting to bite, and BMW announced they would be withdrawing at the end of the year.

Peter Sauber bought his team back, but later admitted that he did it for sentimental reasons. Speaking to Formula1.com, he said:

When I decided to take over, I had to make the decision in a short period of time. I was led purely by my gut feelings, which is something you should try to avoid. If it was a purely logical decision, you wouldn’t have done it. But in the end I didn’t have a choice because Hinwil would have been closed down.

He was by then in his mid-60s. Enjoying his well-earned retirement, Sauber had no desire to run the team on a day-to-day basis. He handed over control, and later a third of the business, to CEO Monisha Kaltenborn. She is now the team principal.

With the exception of an encouraging 2012, Sauber have struggled ever since.

Looking to the Future

The recurring theme throughout the history of Sauber is one of partnerships. As F1 became more professional and expensive throughout the 1990s and 2000s, privateer teams disappeared from the grid with alarming regularity.

Jordan, Lotus (the proper Lotus), Minardi, Benetton, Prost, Arrows, Footwork, Lola (twice) and Tyrrell. All these teams fell by the wayside, either closed down or bought out by bigger, wealthier concerns.

Sauber survived because they always attracted and benefited from the involvement of one or more big partners. They would not have lasted without the substantial investment they received from the likes of Mercedes, Petronas, Red Bull and BMW.

But from the end of 2009 when BMW departed, they have been alone.

Big business appears to have fallen out of love with F1 as cheaper and more effective ways to market their brands have come to the fore. Even the major motor manufacturers have little interest in the sport.

They have even less interest in a team which, with no disrespect intended, has become a byword for mediocrity.

Without the storied history of a team like Williams to attract investment—not that Williams have had it easy—Sauber have spent the past few years in a holding pattern.

Relying heavily on their drivers to bring in the sponsors, the team have been waiting and hoping for someone to come in and save the day.

Last season, it seemed their prayers had been answered. In July 2013, Sauber announced a partnership with a group of Russian companies. It was a curious deal with at least two of the companies involved strongly linked to the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin. This would later prove significant.

An unwanted gift in the deal was Sergey Sirotkin, the 17-year-old son of one of the companies' directors. He was supposed to drive for the team in 2014.

But as yet, nothing has really happened. Someone intelligent realised Sirotkin wasn't ready, and though this revelation didn't in itself delay anything, discussions over the deal ground on until the Crimean crisis erupted in February this year.

Russia's annexation of the peninsular threw a massive spanner in the works.

Western powers imposed a variety of sanctions on many Russian individuals and companies, and the resulting uncertainty has further delayed—and maybe even killed—the deal. Sauber's team principal, Monisha Kaltenborn, explained at the Spanish Grand Prix press conference:

We’ve definitely seen an effect because a lot of talks which are very advanced have virtually come to standstill because people are waiting and seeing what’s going to happen and nobody really knows the entire impact it can have.

The sanctions that have now been imposed are really biting some of them, so they’re very careful which again means that we simply have to wait and there’s nothing we can do about it, so we really hope that the situation can be clarified soon and all our deals can be sorted out.

If the Russian rescue does eventually fall through, Sauber face a deeply uncertain future. They will struggle to survive alone for much longer, and another former privateer boss, Eddie Jordan, thinks Sauber should sell up.

He told Swiss newspaper Blick (h/t grandprix.com for the translation), "It's obvious that they've reached the point where it can't go on like this. Before the damage is even greater, the best solution would be to stop and sell the team."

It does appear to be the only way the team can survive as a competitive entity, and Sauber himself probably agrees.

But finding a buyer for a non-profitable team in a sport with a questionable financial future may be the toughest task he has ever faced.

Sauber are the latest team to disclose details of their new concept for the upcoming Formula One season, having released the first images and information on their 2014 car, which has been dubbed the "C33-Ferrari." 

The slick black design will be given its maiden public outing at the first bout of winter tests in Jerez, Spain, next week, and Sauber drivers Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez will be keen to get behind the wheel of the car that they hope will inspire the team to great things during the 2014 season.

The Sauber F1 team released images of the C33-Ferrari via their official Twitter account:

The man behind the C33's design, Eric Gandelin, offered an insight into the design process and insisted that maintaining early reliability was the bedrock of this particular concept, per Phillip Horton of F1 Zone:

The path we have followed with the design of the Sauber C33-Ferrari allows us maximum flexibility, so that we can react quickly.

It is also clear that reliability will be an important factor in the first few races in particular. So this is an area which we have given very high priority.

Sauber became the fourth team to release details of their motor for the upcoming season after Lotus' E22, Ferrari's F14 T (pictured below) and McClaren's MP4-29 were all revealed earlier in the week.

It makes up a foursome of cars that have a host of different design features and appearances, which should make for some intriguing viewing in the first winter test.

The C33-Ferrari has a very long, snout-like nose and front-wing pylons, which are positioned particularly wide on the car. The pylons have been moved in keeping with new regulations, which have reduced the maximum allowed width of the front wing from 180cm to 165cm.

With a change in the engine regulations to take effect for this season—which allows 1.6-litre super-charged engines to be used—it's difficult to speculate as to how each team's design will adapt and react to the added power.

Because of this, the Sauber engineers "followed the path of greatest possible flexibility," which will enable them to "respond to unexpected factors or developments," per the team's official website.

It's something that Gandelin also spoke about, insisting it is difficult to get a read on the opposition until the cars are actually put to the test, per Phillip Horton of F1 Zone:

We know what kind of package we’ve put together here, and we are happy with what we achieved, but it is difficult to foresee what shape our rivals are in.

The earliest opportunity to gain an impression of where the teams are in relation to one another will come during testing. The path we have followed with the design of the Sauber C33-Ferrari allows us maximum flexibility, so that we can react quickly.

For Sutil and Gutierrez, they will be hoping that this latest design will see the team jump up the F1 standings in the 2014 season.

A drop in performance last year saw the team finish with just 57 points accumulated from drivers Gutierrez and Nico Hulkenberg, as well as a final standing of seventh in the Constructors Championship. That compared to a points haul of 126 and a finishing position of sixth in the 2012 season, per the F1 official website.

With the experience of Sutil recruited for the upcoming campaign and a slick new design to boot, expect Sauber make a much stronger impression this time round.

According to recent reports in Autosport, Nico Hulkenberg has told suitors Lotus that he wants his F1 future sorted by the end of the month.

Hulkenberg has long been considered the favourite to replace Kimi Raikkkonen at the team after it was announced the Finn would be rejoining Ferrari for next season.

But Team boss Eric Boullier is quoted on ESPNF1 as saying there are “a number of other good drivers on the market” and there are no announcements to be made as yet.

There are no announcements yet but there is plenty going on behind the scenes. We know that Kimi is headed elsewhere for next season, but we also know that Romain would bring good continuity as well as the strong performance potential we've seen recently. There are a number of other good drivers on the market at the moment, so we're in a strong position of being able to assess the possibilities. A race seat with Lotus F1 Team is pretty hot property at the moment, so we're confident we'll have a strong line-up in 2014.

Stellar performances in an uncompetitive Sauber car this season have made Hulkenberg one of the hottest properties in the driver market for next year, so why have Lotus left this late to sign up the German, and could their delay backfire?

The Financial Situation

Possibly the primary reason for the delay in officially signing Hulkenberg is whether or not the team completes its investment deal with Quantum Motorsports, as reported on Autosport.

Should the pieces of the jigsaw fall into place, Hulkenberg seems the most likely option as Lotus would then be able to meet his salary demands rather than hire a driver with significant financial backing.

If not, drivers such as Pastor Maldonado and Kevin Magnussen would then come into the picture.

The Weight Issue

There is no doubt about Hulkenberg’s potential as a race-winner, but next season’s new regulations may see Lotus as viewing the German as a hindrance rather than a help.

Standing 6'1" and weighing over 12 stone, Hulkenberg is one of the largest drivers on the grid. And with cars taking on board heavier 1.6 litre engines with turbochargers and Energy Recovery Systems, the issue of weight is very much at a premium.

The combined car and driver has to comply to a minimum weight limit so smaller drivers are more valuable to a team who can then have the luxury of playing around with extra ballast to give the car an advantage in terms of optimum balance at certain circuits.

Former world champion Nigel Mansell recently slammed the new F1 weight limits on BBC Sport as “disgraceful.” But if the weight issue really is a serious sticking point then Lotus may well be looking at other options, including the aforementioned Maldonado and Magnussen.

The Risks in Delaying

If Lotus delay too long and fail to meet Hulkenberg’s October deadline, the chances are he could head back to Force India, possibly in place of the out-of-form Paul di Resta.

The other sensational rumour circulating in the Japanese Grand Prix paddock according to The Telegraph is that Fernando Alonso may yet opt out of Ferrari and replace Sergio Perez at McLaren, with Hulkenberg jumping into a Ferrari seat alongside Kimi Raikkonen.

But the likelihood is that Lotus will soon announce the funding deal that will give them the freedom of making their preferred choice. And if Hulkenberg really is that good, surely his extra talent behind the wheel can make up those few tenths of a second that extra weight would add.

Rubens Barrichello gave a lot to Formula One during his record-breaking 322 Grands Prix career, and in turn the sport gave him a lot back.

Might it be that the Brazilian will extend that record in 2014?

Barrichello has been linked with Sauber for next year, as per Yahoo/Reuters, and team principal Monisha Kaltenborn has admitted he is in the frame. In one regard, it makes sense. F1 is entering its biggest regulation shake-up in some time, and it’s almost certain that one of the team’s drivers will be 18-year-old Sergey Sirotkin.

With the high risk that comes with promoting a driver so young, one sees the appeal of partnering him with the sport’s most experienced driver. It’s not fool-proof, but it’s also not the worst logic in the world.

Experience Is Key

Between graduating to F1 with Jordan in 1993 and finishing with Williams in 2011, Barrichello amassed 11 wins and 68 podiums, claiming 14 pole positions and 17 fastest laps. The Brazilian was twice a runner-up, to Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher in 2002 and 2004, and challenged for the title with Brawn in 2009, finishing third.

Barrichello has the sort of CV that would make him appealing to a lot of teams, despite being 41 now. Interestingly, after challenging for the world title in '09, he was unwilling to leave the sport. Then aged 37, he moved to Williams and proved his worth once more, finishing a credible 10th in a difficult car.

That’s when he should have retired. He had given something back to the sport that had provided him with a near-20-year career, made him a very wealthy man and provided him with a berth in its most iconic of teams. But he did not retire. He stayed with Williams, which endured its worst season for 30 years, and Barrichello scored four points.

Only the torrid 2007 year with Honda yielded a worse score; even without factoring in the different points systems. Barrichello bowed out of F1 with a whimper a driver of his calibre did not deserve. He spent a year in IndyCar before returning to his homeland to race Brazilian StockCar.

The reason I refer to Barrichello’s past is because that’s where his F1 career should be – in the past. He was a fine driver, the key word there being “was.” His return to the sport would take away a seat at a solid team with a great record for nurturing young talent. The likes of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez are a testimony to that.

I like Barrichello. He's intelligent, quick and was one of the paddock's most popular characters. But are they enough reasons to warrant a return after two years away and aged 41?

F1's Big Problem

How likely is a comeback? It’s impossible to accurately measure, so hurriedly can F1’s landscape change. But if they are considering him, and their new Russian backers are stumping up a considerable budget, then Barrichello’s own funds could act merely as a topper. His experience is a huge asset, even if it brings with it concerns over his age.

But what does that mean for F1? It’s actually of much greater concern than simply an older driver making a return which would split opinion. Even the potential of a Barrichello/Sirotkin partnership would be indicative of a great problem in the sport, in which there is both little opportunity for young drivers to properly prepare for F1, little space to accommodate those who are prepared and little time for rookies who are racing there already.

Autosport's F1 editor Edd Straw made a superb point earlier in the week regarding F1 and its attitude to young drivers. If the sport does not do something to help the next generation, there is a very real problem developing as we speak—a long-term driver shortage.

Those two Sauber seats next year should be occupied by Felipe Massa and Esteban Gutierrez, with Robin Frijns as test and reserve driver. That's how it should be. But it isn't going to be, as the cash-strapped Frijns is out of the picture. So, a potential scenario is Massa and Gutierrez with Sirotkin as test and reserve driver, stepping up in 2015. That would give him an extra year to get ready, give Gutierrez a sophomore season to prove himself and give Massa a chance of redemption out of Alonso's sizable shadow at Ferrari.

A Mistake In The Making

The above reasons are all genuine arguments for earning a place in a Formula One team. If you have something to prove and are capable of doing so, then you can still argue there is unfinished business in F1.

Barrichello cannot argue that. He had a full F1 career that spanned more than 300 Grands Prix, he had his chance in race-winning machinery (twice) and proved himself a capable race winner if ultimately lacking that little bit extra required to be world champion.

He may feel there is something still to be given to the sport and taken from it. The reality is all he would take is a plum seat from one of F1's next generation, and surely a driver from the future should take priority over one from the past.

Formula One’s silly season is almost at an end and we’ll soon know the destinations of many drivers for the 2014 season.

It appears that Red Bull are set to announce at Spa that Daniel Ricciardo will partner Sebastian Vettel for the 2014 season as reported by Bild newspaper (via Sky Sports). That means Fernando Alonso will almost certainly be staying with Ferrari with Nico Hulkenberg joining him in place of the struggling Felipe Massa.

Yes, it’s my opinion that Hulkenberg is just the driver that Ferrari are targeting for the second seat for a couple of good reasons. It’s no secret that Sauber are struggling financially with Autosport reporting that deals with several Russian companies are ongoing. And the intention is that teenager Sergey Sirotkin will be given a race seat as part of the deal.

Ferrari also know that Hulkenberg is immensely quick. Not only has he won every series en route to Formula 1, he matched up favourably with Rubens Barrichello before consistently outpacing teammate Paul di Resta at Force India last season.

And this season has seen Hulkenberg continue to impress.

A fuel system failure resulted in a DNF in Australia, but points followed in Malaysia where he finished a season best eighth. "The Hulk" was also fastest through the speed trap in Canada clocking 199.81mph before being taken out of the race by Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde.

Hulkenberg followed up his Canadian Grand Prix disappointment by recording back-to-back points finishes in Britain and Germany before a fighting 11th in Hungary ahead of both Toro Rossos.

Although it’s fair to say that Hulkenberg has not been pressed hard by rookie teammate Esteban Gutiérrez - he has outqualified him in every race of the season to date - it’s also apparent that the Sauber is one of the less competitive cars on the grid.

The German has not denied there has been contact with Ferrari as reported by Sky Sports, and his current team already has a direct link with the Maranello team through the engine supply deal:

The future is still open, my management and I are looking at all the possible options, including Sauber. Nothing has been decided and we are still quite a way away from making a decision too.

Should Hulkenberg achieve his ambition of donning the famous red overalls, it wouldn’t be the first time a Sauber driver has made that transition. Look no further than Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen for the proof.

Nico’s mid-season marks:

Temperament: 8/10

Qualifying: 7/10

Race craft: 7/10

Summary: A difficult season for Nico in one of the less competitive machines he’s had to drive. But he’s easily outpaced and outscored his teammate and that’s all he can do. Ferrari know how good he is.

For Esteban Gutierrez, the rise through the ranks of the junior formulae to fully fledged Formula One driver has been a rapid ascent.

From GP3 champion in 2010 to third in the GP2 series in 2012 and Sauber’s reserve driver, the young Mexican has been thrown into the deep end as teammate to the experienced Nico Hulkenberg for his first full Grand Prix season.

While Hulkenberg has scored all of Sauber’s seven points this season, Gutierrez has been learning the ropes and finding his feet. So I’m going to grade him on his Saturday and Sunday performances and give him a mark out of 10 for each.

Australia: Q18 / 13th

A tough baptism for Gutierrez as Albert Park is not the easiest of circuits if you haven’t driven it before. His goal for the opening race was to make it to the chequered flag, and to do that ahead of a Williams was a solid achievement as noted on his team's press release.

"My main goal was to finish the race, and to achieve that is really enjoyable. I want to thank the whole team, because yesterday in qualifying we had a good chance and today we were able to recover some of what we lost yesterday.

Score: 7/10

Malaysia:  Q14 / 12th

An improvement on Australia both in terms of qualifying and the race. What’s more, Gutierrez was fastest of all through the speed trap, his Sauber clocked at 191.42 mph.

Score 7/10

China: Q17 / DNF

China marked his first big rookie mistake of the season in what can only be described as a rush of blood to the head. The Mexican made a decent start in gaining a couple of places but carried too much speed into his braking point before the main straight and crashed into Adrian Sutil’s Force India. Quoted on his team's post race press release, Gutierrez owned up to his mistake:

I was braking at the same place where I usually brake, however, didn't anticipate the loss of downforce and the amount of speed I had. I tried my best to stop, but didn't succeed. It was definitely my fault, and I apologise to Adrian (Sutil) and to his team.

Score 4/10

Bahrain: Q22 / 18th

Gutierrez was always going to be up against it after being slapped with a five-place penalty from the Chinese GP. Finished 18th behind the Caterham of Charles Pic. Not a race weekend to remember.

Score 5/10

Spain: Q 19 / 11th

A real mixed bag of a weekend. It started badly when Gutierrez was slapped with a three-place penalty for holding up Kimi Raikkonen in the final sector of Q1. But he put the disappointment behind him on race day to finish 11th ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and Adrian Sutil’s Force India. A big confidence booster.

"I focused on getting the most out of the car today, and it was important to achieve a result like this for me and the team,” said Gutierrez on his team’s website afterwards. “The team has given me the patience and tools to improve as a driver and this is what I could extract from the car.”

Score 7/10

Monaco: Q19 / 13th

Never an easy circuit for an F1 rookie even if he had prior experience of the track. Gutierrez struggled with the racing line in qualifying but fought hard against Valtteri Bottas in the race on a track where overtaking is close to impossible.

Score 5/10

Canada: Q15 / DNF

Another adequate qualifying performance followed by another driving error on race day when he bizarrely locked up and crashed coming out of the pit lane after his second pit stop.

Score 4/10

Britain: Q17 / 14th

But for a problem with his front left tyre and another with his front wing that forced him into a couple of unscheduled pitstops, the British Grand Prix could have seen Gutierrez bag his first points for the team as he only finished seven seconds behind his 10th-placed teammate. An encouraging performance.

Score 6/10

Germany: Q14 / 14th

His Sauber’s pace on the longer straights was a bit slow, but Gutierrez still managed to finish in front of both Williams drivers.

Score 5/10

Hungary: Q17 / DNF

Gutierrez struggled with an engine issue on Saturday before retiring with a gearbox problem after only 28 laps. A difficult race to judge his performance on.

Score 5/10

It’s hard to know exactly how much Gutierrez will have improved by the end of the season. While he’s some way shy of teammate Hulkenberg so far, he’s been sparring well with fellow rookie Valtteri Bottas, and the pair have been fairly evenly matched, although it’s fair to say the Sauber has been slightly the more competitive car this season.

As ever, the unpredictable weather at Spa reared its head during first practice for the Belgian Grand Prix, meaning a large part of the session was a virtual washout. 

For much of the 90-minute session, a 2:17.705 lap time by Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi was the only timed lap completed. Nearly all the teams stayed in their garages rather than risk any accidents in the treacherous conditions.

Save for a few installation laps—where the drivers cruise around slowly and return to the pits without setting a time—the situation at the top of the time-sheets remained this way until over half way through practice. Then, as the rain let up with around 40 minutes still remaining, we eventually saw a relative flurry of activity.

Whilst lap times began to fall, there were still some drivers who elected not to complete any laps.  Championship leader Fernando Alonso remained in the garage as did Kimi Raikkonen, with Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher (who is celebrating his 300th Grand Prix this weekend), only appearing at the very end of the session. By the time Alonso appeared, the rain had resumed and no further improvements were possible.

In the end, it was still Kobayashi who set the fastest time, improving by some six seconds from his earlier time with a 2:11.389.  Pastor Maldonado was second, with Mark Webber the highest of the championship contenders in fifth place.

There was some drama as the chequered flag dropped, with Felipe Massa suffering an apparent engine failure.

Complete Times

#	Driver		Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Kamui Kobayashi		Sauber	2:11.389		20
2	Pastor Maldonado		Williams	2:11.941	0.552	14
3	Daniel Ricciardo		Toro Rosso	2:12.004	0.615	12
4	Jean-Eric Vergne		Toro Rosso	2:12.824	1.435	15
5	Mark Webber		Red Bull	2:13.191	1.802	13
6	Sergio Perez		Sauber	2:13.861	2.472	16
7	Nico Rosberg		Mercedes	2:14.210	2.821	14
8	Valtteri Bottas		Williams	2:14.660	3.271	16
9	Sebastian Vettel		Red Bull	2:14.860	3.471	11
10	Michael Schumacher		Mercedes	2:15.402	4.013	13
11	Paul di Resta		Force India	2:15.812	4.423	11
12	Timo Glock		Marussia	2:16.409	5.020	16
13	Nico Hulkenberg		Force India	2:16.786	5.397	10
14	Vitaly Petrov		Caterham	2:16.788	5.399	16
15	Lewis Hamilton		McLaren	2:16.827	5.438	5
16	Jenson Button		McLaren	2:16.861	5.472	8
17	Charles Pic		Marussia	2:17.519	6.130	14
18	Heikki Kovalainen		Caterham	2:18.199	6.810	10
19	Pedro de la Rosa		HRT	2:19.546	8.157	12
20	Dani Clos		HRT	2:19.689	8.300	12
21	Romain Grosjean		Lotus	2:38.701	27.312	9
22	Fernando Alonso		Ferrari	2:40.749	29.360	4
23	Kimi Raikkonen		Lotus	2:46.580	35.191	9
	Felipe Massa		Ferrari			2

Timing courtesy of PlanetSport.com

With Sergio Perez having an excellent start to the 2012 season for Sauber after his settling in rookie season in 2011, he is thought to be one of the most promising drivers on the grid.

He is considered one of the most likely drivers to take over if Felipe Massa is sacked by Ferrari. It is clear he is a very highly thought of driver and his drive in Malaysia was one of the clearest demonstrations yet. However, he is not the first Mexican hotshot in Formula 1.

A brief look back at the history of Formula 1 reveals there has been only the five Mexican drivers in the sport. There has been Perez, Hector Rebaque, Moises Solana and the Rodriguez Brothers, Pedro and Ricardo. Neither Rebaque or Solana managed to make much of an impression in the world of Formula 1, but the two Rodriguez brothers were considered to be two of the most promising drivers ever to grace the sport.

The Rodriguez brothers were lucky to have a father who had money to help finance their efforts, and their father also encouraged them to race. Despite this they were not just two rich kids who bought their way into the higher levels of motorsports. They were both serious racers.

Sadly neither Rodriguez Brother ever quite got to realize their potential, but both of them demonstrated talent and bravery that was exemplary. Both of the brothers not only had success in Formula 1, but they also showed their talent in other forms of motorsport, such as sports cars, Can-Am, Nascar and rallying.

The younger brother, Ricardo, was incredibly successful in the junior categories, and despite his death at the tender age of 20 he was already thought to be a Formula 1 champion in the making. At the age of 14 he began racing in national motorcycle competitions and won championships. He tried to enter Le Mans in 1956 but was refused entry due to his lack of age and experience in saloon car racing

Ricardo moved into domestic saloon car racing rather than single seaters, but his success continued, winning in his debut season in his own car at the age of 15. At 17 he began to compete in events outside of Mexico, the first of which was at Riverside in the United States, where he won a race for Porsches. Ricardo's smooth driving style made him stand out from others, and his pace made him a formidable foe to drive against.

Once again Ricardo tried to enter Le Mans in 1958 with his brother Pedro as co-driver, but once again Ricardo was denied entry because he was considered too young at 16. Pedro did compete along with Jose Behra, the brother of the great French driver Jean Behra, but retired from the race with a burst water hose.   

Finally, at the 1959 Le Mans, Ricardo was granted entry to the event, where he teamed up with his brother to compete in the 750cc for the OSCA team. Sadly for them, they were forced to retire after just 32 laps. In 1960, Ricardo became the youngest driver at just age 18 to stand on the podium at Le Mans after finishing in second place in the Ferrari 250.

To go with his Le Mans exploits, Ricardo took part in events such as the 1000km at the Nurburgring, the Targa Floria and the 12 Hours of Sebring. As often as possible, Ricardo would try and drive with his brother as his co-driver, but occasionally would driver with other partners.

In 1961, Ricardo was offered to drive for Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix. Enzo was so impressed by what he saw from Ricardo that he entered an extra car for the event. Incredibly, Ricardo managed to qualify on the front row for the race, and he still holds the record for the youngest driver ever to start on the front row of the grid.

Once the race began he became the youngest driver ever to start a Formula 1 at that time. Even today he is still the third youngest ever to start a race, with only Mike Thackwell and Jaime Alguersuari starting a race younger. Sadly, the 1961 Italian Grand Prix was overshadowed by the horrific accident that killed Wolfgang Von Trips and 14 spectators.

The race became insignificant after the accident, and Ricardo retired after 13 laps with a fuel problem.

In 1962 Ricardo continued with both racing sports but began racing more regularly in Formula 1 for the Ferrari team. He competed in the Dutch Grand Prix but had a poor race, clashing with Jack Brabham before retiring seven laps before the end of the race. He then acted as test driver for Willy Mairesse at the Monaco Grand Prix.

He returned to the race seat for the Belgian Grand Prix, finishing fourth and earning himself his first ever championship points, also at the time becoming the youngest driver ever to have scored a championship point. He then missed the next two events before returning to compete at the German Grand Prix, where he finished sixth.

His last championship race was the Italian Grand Prix, where he retired after 63 laps. Outside of Formula 1 championship events, he won the Targa Floria and also came in second at the non-championship at Pau Grand Prix. 

Ricardo was desperate to enter any non-championship Mexico Grand Prix but Ferrari wouldn't provide a car for him, so Ricardo signed to drive a Rob Walker Lotus. Tragedy struck during practice, as Ricardo's car suffered a rear suspension failure at the Peratalda corner, which sent Ricardo straight off the track and into the wall. Ricardo was killed instantly.

Despite his short career Ricardo was considered to be one of the finest drivers of his generation. To have had such a promising career cut short is a real tragedy. After Ricardo's death it was down to Pedro to try and take up the mantle and become the great success his younger brother had been.  

The older brother, Pedro, was probably not as naturally talented as his brother, but he was still an excellent driver. As a younger driver, Pedro was a lot wilder than his brother and was a lot more prone to have accidents. Pedro began like his younger brother in local motorcycle racing before moving to car racing.

Pedro also began to enter sports car racing and was considered fast but erratic, and he didn't have the same sort of success that his brother did. In fact it wasn't really until after the death of his brother that Pedro began to showcase more of his abilities. After taking some time out after his brother's death Pedro entered his first Formula 1 race in 1963.

He signed to do two races for Team Lotus in the United States, and then Mexico. Pedro didn't make it to the checkered flag at either event due to technical issues. In 1964, he only entered the final race of the season, once again in Mexico, where he would finish sixth and earn his first point for the Ferrari team. 

In 1965, he once again only did part of the season, competing in the final two races of the season, once again in Mexico and the USA. In the U.S.A. he earned another two points, coming in fifth, and in Mexico he came in seventh. In 1966, he entered four races but failed to finish all four.

In 1967, he did nearly a full season for the Cooper team and won his first race at the South African Grand Prix. He went on to score four more point finishes at the Monaco, British, France and Mexico races, but didn't get on the podium again that season. 

The following season he suffered from a lot of reliability issues, but he still either scored points or podiums. He came second in Belgium and third in Holland and Canada. By this stage in his career his judgement had improved and the accidents he had in his youth were a thing of the past—he was just a fast and brave driver. He also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1968 in the Ford GT40 partnered with Lucien Bianchi.

1969 saw him return to more of a part-time schedule, but he did score two points finishes in Italy and the United States. He also took more of fuller schedule in sports car racing competing in the work Ferrari 312p, which was powerful but hardly ever got to the end of the event due to the cars unreliability.

The truth was Rodriguez was happy to drive in other categories, and all through his Formula 1 career he often drove in other types of racing. He raced in Nascar and Can-Am, but his real strength was in sports cars. He drove as a Ferrari works driver before taking over in the Porsche 917 from 1970 onwards.

It was at the 1000km at Brands Hatch, where in the pouring rain he won by five laps despite being black flagged and getting dropped to 12th at one point. It was said it seemed like he was driving in the dry and everyone else was in the wet. That year he also won the 1000km at Spa, where he had an epic duel with Jo Siffert, with the two going side by side 'round Eau Rouge on one lap.

He also continued in Formula 1 in 1970, picking up his second victory at the Belgian Grand Prix and a second place in the USA. Through 1970 he picked up another four points finishes in Monaco, Austria, Mexico and Canada.

In 1971 he was winning the World Sports Car Championship and was once again doing respectably in Formula 1, with a second place finish in Holland. However, he never got to complete the '71 season, which had the potential to be his most successful ever.

But in a Interserie Sportscar race at the Norisring, he crashed his Ferrari 512M after a wheel most likely came off. He suffered multiple injuries and eventually passed away at the age of 31.

Both Rodriguez' had so much talent, and they were a massive loss to the motorsport world.

Sauber announced today that they would be replacing driver Pedro de la Rosa with Nick Heidfeld. It had been widely rumoured around the F1 paddock that de la Rosa’s place in the Sauber team was under threat, given that he had failed to keep pace with his younger teammate, Kamui Kobayashi, who has outscored de la Rosa by 21 points to six this year.

The Sauber team have not had the best of seasons so far; they have tended to lag behind the other midfield teams such as Renault and Williams, and they are currently sitting in eighth place in the constructors’ table. Therefore it is hardly surprising that team owner Peter Sauber felt that it was time for a change.

Although he is younger than de la Rosa, Heidfeld actually has more race experience, having started over 150 races. Although Heidfeld has never won an F1 race, he has finished second in a Grand Prix eight times. He has raced for Sauber before between 2001 and 2003, and also when the team was called BMW Sauber between 2006 and 2009.

Heidfeld began this season as a test driver for Mercedes GP and then left that post to test drive for the tire manufacturer Pirelli, who will become the sole tire supplier for F1 in the 2011 season, replacing Bridgestone.

De la Rosa has said that he was "surprised by the team’s decision" and that he intends "to be in Formula 1 in 2011." However finding a race seat in 2011 will not be easy for the Spaniard because, with the exception of Lotus, those teams lower down the grid appear to be favouring younger drivers. It may be that de la Rosa will take up a testing role with one of the teams, such as he has done with McLaren in the past.