New regulations provide a 'reset' for Sauber - Kaltenborn

Sauber boss Monisha Kaltenborn believes Formula 1's new regulation environment provides the Swiss outfit with an opportunity to 'reset' its development.

The Hinwill-based squad endured a trying season last year with just a two points scored at the end of the season by Felipe Nasr at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Earlier in the year, with its finances in dire straits, Sauber received a welcome influx of cash from Longbow Financial which ultimately took over the Swiss team.

According to Kaltenborn, the start of a new regulation era has gone a long way to help Sauber as every team has been forced to start from a clean sheet of paper.

It is for me a very significant opportunity because we have not really had any setback in our development plan; we are on schedule,” Kaltenborn told RACER.

“With the new people coming in, even with a head of aerodynamics [Nicolas Hennel de Beaupreau] coming in, it has already had an effect on what we want to do.

"We have taken certain steps we wanted to and we could now, so actually it is all in place. I see this is a very big opportunity for us to take that next step."

• Is Sauber set for Honda power in 2018?

Without the development reset, Sauber would have indeed found itself once again in a difficult situation given the fact that it had fallen so far behind.

"If everything stayed the same we would have to take a much bigger step because we are that far behind. Now, with this, everything is in a way reset and you are more or less in a normal situation where you say, ‘OK, what step can we take? What will the others do?’

"And it’s not like you have to take twice the size of step to be close to where you want to be."

GALLERY: F1 drivers' wives and girlfriends

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter