New Sauber will miss opening pre-season test

Sauber’s 2016 challenger – the C35 – will not be ready for the first pre-season test in Barcelona, according to several reports.

The Swiss outfit initially planned to have its new car ready in time for early March but the season-opening Australian Grand Prix was then moved forward to March 20, which resulted in a February 22 kickoff for the first group running.

While all other F1 teams seemed to have adjusted to the new tighter schedule, Sauber has decided to keep on its development course and will only launch its new car at the second test.

Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson will thus run a modified version of their 2015-spec C34 across the opening four days, though the car will sport its new colour scheme.

After a dismal and scoreless 2014 campaign, Sauber managed to recover and amassed 36 points to finish eighth in last year's Constructors’ standings, ahead of McLaren-Honda.

The 2016 pre-season testing has been slashed to just eight days instead of 12 last winter. Both sessions will take place at the Spanish Grand Prix venue from February 22-25 and March 1-4 respectively.

Most teams are expected to roll out their new cars around the opening day, with Haas and McLaren already slated for a February 21 launch.

Key dates for the 2016 F1 season