Sauber F1 Team confirm talent will be considered over money when the time comes to pick its 2017 Formula 1 driver line-up.
With financial problems hitting the Swiss outfit at the beginning of the 2016 season which left their future in doubt, they were saved by investment firm Longbow Finance. This deal allowed the team to begin a new update programme and lift their hopes for next year.
With the new finances gained by the team, there is now no need to chase the drivers with the biggest sponsorships, allowing the team to make a more considered decision regarding their drivers.
Team principal Monisha Kaltenborn insists that financial reasons do have to be considered but for Sauber they look at the driver and their talent first, and then they see what they can bring for the team in their backing.
“We have never at Sauber just taken a decision for financial reasons and we are known for that,” Kaltenborn told Motorsport.com. “Financial reasons have to be considered, but we have always looked at the driver and have to be first convinced of the driver when we take him as a race driver.
“If money is required, which isn’t the current situation, not only for us, then one would have to take that into consideration as well. So I think nothing is going to change at that policy for us. We first look at the driver and then we see what the surrounding is and what we need.”
Under the circumstances of this season, Kaltenborn believes Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr have performed well, even though they have yet to achieve any points. With Pascal Wehrlein achieving a point for Manor Racing, Sauber are sitting at the bottom of the Constructors Championship.
“They have performed well,” she said. “It’s not been an easy season with all the issues we have had. Some were in our control, some were not in our control.
“But they have actually so far shown absolutely a good job. We hope that with what we introduced now and with further information we are collecting by analyzing the car, that we can score some points.”
