Step Into The Ring - Sauber's 2013

News of Lewis Hamilton moving to Mercedes has come as no big surprise to many people, but Sergio Perez taking his place at McLaren has caused a stir. The man who Luca di Montezemelo recently said 'needed more experience' to join Ferrari, is now going to one of their main rivals and one of the most successful teams in the sport.

But what now for Sauber in 2013? The loss of Perez's unquestionable talent, and the many millions of dollars of sponsorship money he brings from Telmex, will be a blow to a team with lots of potential, but lacking the funds to make a car capable of challenging for anything more than the occasional podium. In terms of the drivers market they have a few options open to them, depending on which direction they want to take:

Michael Schumacher

If you were to believe all the rumblings you've heard during F1 Silly Season, Michael Schumacher going to Sauber has become an increasingly likely option. Nothing needs to be said about his credentials, they're out there for all to see, but his second coming at Mercedes has surely been far from what he had in mind. In both 2010 and 2011 he was beaten in the championship standings by Nico Rosberg, and poor reliability this year has meant he is currently languishing in 12th overall. Flashes of his past brilliance, with his pole in Monaco and podium at Valencia, have been muted by accidents in Barcelona and Singapore. Nevertheless, disregarding breakdowns he is still a regular points finisher, and has all the experience that comes with being a seven-time world champion.

The question is, would Schumi want to make the perceived step backwards to Sauber? Peter Sauber himself has said that's he's welcome to discussion, and he has driven a Sauber before, albeit in a test back in 1997. It would of course be a major coup for the team, and Kamui Kobayashi would do well to learn from such an esteemed team-mate - if he were to stay, that is. Although he's brought in some solid results (his 4th place in Hockenheim being the highlight), Kobayashi has been outdriven by Perez this year and there are many rumours that he may be let go. If that were the case, pairing Schumi with a younger pair of hands would provide a good balance for a team looking to move forward on a limited budget. Though we still don't know if Schumi will retire. Again.

Jaime Alguersuari

Many were shocked to see the young Spaniard dropped by Toro Rosso at the end of last year. Despite becoming another ball of paper to be added to the Red Bull Junior Programme's waste bin, Alguersuari showed some promise in his brief time in Formula 1, finishing in the points 7 times in 2011 at the wheel of an uncompetitive car. His stats in the lower formulae speak for themselves - out of 22 races in the 2008 British F3 season, he won 5, gained 12 podiums and only failed to finish in the points 3 times. Very impressive results, but they don't seem to have brought him much luck...

What will make Jaime an attractive prospect is his knowledge of the Pirelli tyres, through his role as the company's test driver. How the various compounds work under specific conditions has been a nut the teams have found hard to crack, and so any inside knowledge or data, however slight, would prove extremely valuable. However, a year out of the sport may have made Alguersuari a little rusty, and his lack of money now Red Bull have dropped him may prove to be a block in contract negotiations. Though everyone deserves a second chance, and Jaime has his youth and experience on his side to persuade a team to give him another shot.

Esteban Gutierrez

Another Mexican with substantial financial backing from Telmex, Sauber's reserve driver has impressed in GP2 this year, finishing third in the championship with 3 wins and 6 podiums. Although clearly talented, he's often been outshone by his rookie team-mate James Calado and would've finished behind him in the championship standings, had it not been for a string of bad luck on the Briton's part.

Gutierrez's consistency would be a welcome addition to the team, and would complement Kamui Kobayashi's aggressive driving style well, should he be kept on. The money he would bring is much-needed by Sauber, and his solid if unremarkable outings in the 2011 Young Drivers Test will also stand him in good stead. But taking on another rookie with only two years of GP2 under his belt is a big risk, albeit one that has seemed to pay off for Sauber in the recent past.


Davide Valsecchi

The new GP2 champion dominated the first half of this year by taking 6 podiums from the first 12 races, with three of those being back-to-back wins. Despite faltering somewhat at Valencia, Valsecchi went on to take one more win at Monza, 4 podiums and 10 points finishes to claim the title after a season-long battle with Luiz Razia, in turn becoming the only driver to win both the main championship and the now defunct GP2 Asia Series.

 Valsecchi has spent five seasons in GP2, tested for HRT and has also had a first practice outing with Caterham, giving him a wealth of single-seater experience. However, the fact that it's taken him five seasons to win the GP2 title may be of concern to prospective teams, who will be looking for a driver who is quick straight away and doesn't need much time to get acquainted with a new car. An unfair approach perhaps, given that drivers mature and grow at different rates, but an understandable one given the financial rewards at stake for the F1 teams. Nevertheless Davide has proven he is quick, and unless he decides to spend yet another season in GP2 or move to another racing series, he can't be ruled out.

Of course, this isn't an exhaustive list by any means. GP2 veteran Luca Filippi highly impressed by winning the feature race at Monza this season, in what was his first race for nearly a year, though a lack of funding means that his chances of reaching Formula 1 seem very slim. Other names such as Jules Bianchi and Luiz Razia have also been mentioned, but may need to be given more time to assess their talent. Only time, and most probably money, will tell who will get the chance.

Spanish Spectacular

Considering this was Barcelona, which is usually a right bore-fest, I'd say this year's race was pretty epic! This was helped no doubt by watching it at the pub and making some new F1 friends (see F1 in Pubs for more details on where you can watch in the UK). 5 different winners, from 5 different constructors, in 5 races just shows how crazy the 2012 season has been up to now. Also, big happy birthday to Fan Formula's founder @GraceF1Fanatic, hope you have a lovely day!


Q1) Qualifying saw Hamilton's penalty and Karthikeyan qualifying outside the 107% rule. What do you make of both incidents and the resulting stewards decisions?

A: It's not the first time McLaren have under-fueled one of their cars in qualifying, deliberately or otherwise. The rule saying the cars have to get back to parc ferme under their own power was tightened because of McLaren's exploits at Canada in 2010, where Lewis had to push his car back to the pits. Even though I think this time the team made an honest mistake, the FIA had to be seen to be taking action as it does create an unfair advantage. However, I thought exclusion from qualifying and being put to the back of the grid was a little harsh. If it was me, I'd have excluded him for Q3 and calculated his grid position from his Q2 time, which would have put him 11th, and maybe have stripped McLaren of constructors points for that race as it was the team's fault that he didn't have enough fuel.

As for Karthikeyan being allowed to race, it makes a complete mockery of the 107% rule. What's the point of having it if it isn't going to be enforced? It's decisions like this that are making the FIA so inconsistent and enduring the wrath of fans. In my opinion, the rule should be modified - unless you have a mechanical problem during qualifying that prevents you from setting a time, then anyone who qualifies outside 107% should not be allowed to race at all. If someone does have a breakdown, only then should the FIA look at their times in practice to assess if they have the pace to keep up.


Q2 [as suggested by @squiffany]) In the Senna vs Schumacher crash, who do you think was at fault?

A: Both drivers had part to blame, but Schumacher was more at fault. I imagine that he would have been told about Senna struggling for grip over his radio, and so a driver of his experience should have been much more aware of his closing speed. Having said that, Senna did move ever-so-slightly left just before going into Turn 1 - I don't know whether that was because of a lack of grip under braking or him trying to fend off Schumacher, but it did play a part in the accident, so in hindsight Senna maybe should have made it a little easier for him to pass if his tyres were that badly worn. A 5-place grid drop for Schumacher in Monaco was deserved though, as it was a silly accident that didn't really need to happen.

Ooops... © Mirror Sport

Q3) Maldonado took his first victory in Spain (the first win for Williams since 2004). Do you think this signals the return of Williams to the top of the grid, or is this just another topsy turvey result for the 2012 season?

A: It's hard to say, as the way the 2012 season is going it's impossible to even make a calculated guess as to what's going to happen! But Williams have clearly made a much better car than those of the last couple of seasons and now that they've won one race, I don't see why they can't win another. It'll take a lot of luck and skill to get the Pirelli tyres to work in their favour, but that's the case for all the teams this year.

Going slightly off-topic, I'm sure everyone was shocked to see the fire that engulfed the Williams garage about an hour after the podium ceremony. It made what was a brilliant and emotional result for the team so bittersweet, though it was very heartening to see such bravery and teamwork from everyone up and down the pitlane to try and help put the fire out. It's events like this that show that Formula 1 is fundamentally a team sport and that at the end of the day, we're all one big family.


BONUS) Who would you say drove the best race at Catalunya and why?

A: Now this is a hard one because no-one really had a race that stood out as being amazing, most of them making the best of a good or bad situation. In the end I've chosen three drivers - Maldonado, Vettel and Hamilton. Pastor stood up to immense pressure from Alonso all race long to produce a very mature drive to silence his critics (including myself), while Sebastian and Lewis pulled off some brilliant overtakes to shoot through the field, albeit they shouldn't have been that far back in the first place (with Lewis' penalty, and Sebastian's drive through and strange front wing problem).  But it all made for an exciting race - maybe we'll see a different driver and constructor take the win in Monaco!

© Vladimir Rys/Getty Images Europe