GreenBkk.com Formula 1 | Kobayashi and Perez unveil the Sauber C30

Kobayashi and Perez unveil the Sauber C30

Sauber’s 2011 race line-up of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez were on hand at the Valencia circuit in Spain on Monday to unveil the team’s new car, ahead of its track debut in testing on Tuesday.

After the upheavals of 2010, with their metamorphosis from a works to a private team, Sauber hope the Ferrari-powered C30 will form the basis of a more stable 2011 campaign and help them better last year’s eighth place in the constructors’ standings.

“We want to finish in the points regularly and clearly improve our position,” said team principal Peter Sauber ahead of his squad’s 19th F1 season. “2010 marked the 41st year of our company history and one of the most difficult. But we managed to overcome these difficulties in the second half of the season.

“We implemented some well-considered structural changes. The appointment of James Key as technical director already bore fruit last season, and he is now in charge of development of the Sauber C30-Ferrari. At the same time, we have managed to secure our business foundation for the 2011 season. In these economically straitened times that is something we can be proud of too.”

Sauber’s aim is for the C30 not just to prove more reliable than its predecessor; there were a number of other weaknesses to be banished as well. One of the team’s overriding targets is to improve aerodynamic efficiency, low-speed cornering, mechanical grip and to gain more flexibility in suspension tuning.

The striking visual features of the Sauber C30 are a raised front, slender waist, compact rear, new rollhoop and downward-sloping engine cover. Propelling the car as before is the Ferrari 056 engine, while power delivery is courtesy of a new Ferrari transmission. Its KERS system also comes from the Maranello factory.

“In order to take a step forward in 2011, we were already systematically tackling the C29’s weaknesses over the last season - and we’ve made progress,” explained technical director Key. “The insights we gleaned were taken into account when the concept for the new C30 was being drawn up."

The new technical regulations presented Sauber’s engineers with a tricky assignment, since the ban on double diffusers fundamentally alters the car’s aerodynamic concept. Another tough challenge was the switch to Pirelli tyres, which meant the engineers had to make decisions during the concept phase before the teams had a chance to test the tyres out on track.

“Since some of the changes decreed by the regulations - particularly regarding the tyres - can only be analysed out on track, it was important for us to build, firstly, a fundamentally predictable car and, secondly, one that would provide sufficient flexibility to respond to ongoing findings at the track and during further development stages,” added Keys.

After completing a few installation laps on Monday, the C30 will begin a full test schedule alongside its rivals on Tuesday at the start of a development programme that will see it fitted with a new aerodynamic package before 2011’s season-opening Grand Prix in Bahrain on March 13.

Credit: Formula One Administration Ltd (www.formula1.com)