Sauber says new C29 hitting targets
Date published : 08 Feb 2010 - 11:09:00
Willy Rampf says Sauber's C29 delivered the performance the team had been expecting of it during its highly encouraging debut test in Valencia last week.
While Ferrari stole the early pre-season headlines by heading the timesheet on all three days in Spain, Sauber finished directly behind it on the times on each occasion with either Pedro de la Rosa or Kamui Kobayashi at the wheel although some have suggested this could partly be down to the team running a lighter fuel load than most.
Rampf, the Hinwil-based squad's technical director, refused to be drawn into predicting where the team might be on the nascent 2010 pecking order but did admit that the C29's on-track performance was so far correlating with its data from simulation work.
That is even more difficult to assess this year than in previous years, he said when asked to give a verdict on the team's early competitiveness.
All we can say is that our car is delivering the performance expected based on our simulations and measurements in the wind tunnel.
Vastly differing fuel loads make it impossible to draw an absolute comparison with other teams' cars.
He added: The drivers' comments have been generally positive regarding factors such as braking stability, traction and the car's responses under widely varying fuel loads.
Sauber, like all of the seven teams in action at Valencia last week, enjoyed high levels of reliability with its all-new car and Rampf says that, a few tweaks aside, there are no major concerns to address ahead of the start of the second test at Jerez on Wednesday.
All in all we can be satisfied with the reliability of the car, he said.
We completed 1,000 kilometres over the three days without encountering any major problems.
Of course, we have to make some adjustments and modifications, but that's what tests are there for.
We will have worked through most of the points before the next test in Jerez.
There's nothing that we need to be seriously concerned about.
For example, the rear of the engine cover was singed by the exhaust gases, so we'll be using a different material for that.
Sauber has opted for an all-new driver line-up for this year following 2006-2009 owner BMW's withdrawal from Formula 1 and Rampf is pleased with how de la Rosa and Kobayashi have settled into the team so far.
Both drivers are new to the team and so we're all still getting to know each other," Rampf added.
However, the working relationship between the drivers and team has got off to a very good start.
With Pedro you can see that his vast well of experience has given him a broad base of technical knowledge, which is extremely valuable for all involved.
Kamui gets his impressions across very quickly, which means he can give the engineers the information they need to work out the changes required. All in all, the drivers and engineers are already working together very productively.
