Sauber C16

The Sauber C16 was the car with which the Sauber Formula One team competed in the 1997 Formula One season. It was initially driven by Johnny Herbert, who was in his second season with the team, and Nicola Larini. Larini's place in the team was secured via an arrangement that gave the team the previous year's Ferrari engines that were used in the F310 that scored three wins in 1996, badged as Petronas in deference to the team's major Malaysian sponsor. This agreement to use Ferrari engines lasted until the team's purchase by BMW for 2006.

Sauber C16
CategoryFormula One
ConstructorSauber
Designer(s)Leo Ress (Technical Director)
Rene Hilhorst (Head of Aerodynamics)
PredecessorSauber C15
SuccessorSauber C17
Technical specifications
Chassiscarbon-fibre and honeycomb composite structure
Suspension (front)double wishbones, pushrod, coil spring/damper
Suspension (rear)double wishbones, pushrod, coil spring/damper
EnginePetronas (Ferrari) 75-degree V10
TransmissionSauber six-speed longitudinal sequential semi-automatic
FuelPetronas
TyresGoodyear
Competition history
Notable entrantsRed Bull Sauber Petronas
Notable drivers16. Johnny Herbert
17. Nicola Larini
17. Gianni Morbidelli
17. Norberto Fontana
Debut1997 Australian Grand Prix
RacesWinsPodiumsPolesF.Laps
170100
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers' Championships0

However, Larini, Ferrari's test driver, was unhappy with the team's ambience and quit after five Grands Prix. Gianni Morbidelli was brought in as a replacement, but he broke his arm on two separate occasions during the year and had to be replaced by rookie Norberto Fontana whilst he recovered. All three drivers were comprehensively out-performed by Herbert.

Against some expectations, the car was competitive at the beginning of the season, but fell away slightly as the season progressed due to lack of development compared with better-funded rivals. Herbert's impressive season culminated in the team's third-ever podium finish at the 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix (where he also beat both works Ferraris). He scored all but one of the team's tally of points.

The team eventually finished seventh in the Constructors' Championship, with 16 points.

Many years later, some photos were leaked showing a top secret test carried out by Michael Schumacher in the C16 at Ferrari's test track at Fiorano in Italy. The test took place in September 1997 in a de-badged C16.[1][2]

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year Team Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Points WCC
1997 Red Bull Sauber Petronas Petronas V10 G AUS BRA ARG SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA AUT LUX JPN EUR 16 7th
Johnny Herbert Ret 7 4 Ret Ret 5 5 8 Ret Ret 3 4 Ret 8 7 6 8
Nicola Larini 6 11 Ret 7 Ret
Gianni Morbidelli 14 10 Ret 9 12 9 9 DNS
Norberto Fontana Ret 9 9 14
gollark: Maybe I should construct pathological channel graphs within ideatic heavspace.
gollark: ++tel graph you entirely.
gollark: Suuuuuuuuuure.
gollark: I also refactored it so ++tel init_webhook actually works when it should i.e. right after it occurs.
gollark: ↑ gaze upon my amazing graph visualizer

References
  • AUTOCOURSE 1997-98, Henry, Alan (ed.), Hazleton Publishing Ltd. (1997) ISBN 1-874557-47-0
  1. Young, Andy (14 October 2012). "Richland's Road of Nostalgia: Michael Schumacher's Secret 1997 Sauber Test".
  2. Deviantart, F1-history. "Michael Schumacher (Italy Test 1997)".


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.