Sauber admits it is behind on 2017 car

Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn admits the team has been left behind slightly on its 2017 car development by recent financial constraints.

Longbow Finance completed its takeover of Sauber last month following years of financial instability for the team, securing its immediate future. However, with the uncertainty Sauber was facing earlier in the season, the team was unable to do much work on its 2017 car.

Asked if it had been left behind slightly as a result of waiting for the takeover to be completed, Kaltenborn told F1i: “Of course, of course.

"But still certain works don’t cost so that’s been going on and we’ll make the most of it.”

And Kaltenborn sees the 2017 regulations changes as a welcome chance for Sauber to move further up the grid.

“It is a big opportunity. I think now we will also have the basis to do more in the season also it just brings us back to where we want to be with the way we work.”

Kaltenborn is also glad to be able to look more long-term following the team's recent struggles.

“Well it has definitely not been a good first half of the year but we know most of the reasons why because we were so much struggling and fighting on a day-by-day survival basis.

"So what is important is that we’ve got the stability in and we’re now getting the parts to Spa. We’re not going to make a massive jump but yes there will be an improvement there which is good. Then we’ll take it from there. So I’d ideally like to forget the first half!”

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.