Sauber to go belly up (5th Update)
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| Monisha Kaltenborn running Sauber into the ground |
Sauber's head of track engineering Tim Malyon has left the Formula 1 team after just over three months in the job, Autosport reports.
The former Red Bull engineer joined the team in January as a replacement for Giampaolo Dall'Ara.
But his last race was the Chinese Grand Prix and he will officially leave the team at the end of the month.
It is the second high profile departure for the Swiss team after technical director Mark Smith left on the eve of season.
Malyon cited personal reasons for his departure.
Paul Russell, Felipe Nasr's former race engineer, moves into the role of chief race engineer on an interim basis.
Sauber has not paid its staff on time for the last two months because of cash flow problems, with boss Monisha Kaltenborn working to find more backers.
Marcus Ericsson's Swedish sponsors stepped in with an early payment to ensure staff were paid for the month of March, albeit eight or nine days late.
Kaltenborn has conceded the team's financial problems are holding up developments it has planned for its 2016 car.
However, funds were available to ensure Nasr will get a new chassis for this weekend's Russian GP having been blighted by handling problems so far this season.
The Brazilian said the problems were not evident in pre-season testing, when he used chassis 01, the one teammate Marcus Ericsson has used since Melbourne.
But Nasr has struggled in all three of the races so far this season.
Sauber ran identical set-ups on Nasr and Ericsson's cars in China but the problems continued and as a result, Nasr has been given chassis 03.
It is understood the team is very short on spares. Autosport
04/13/16
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| Ericsson backers reportedly paid Sauber staff |
(GMM) Sauber has bucked the rumors by traveling to Shanghai this week for the Chinese grand prix.
In obvious financial trouble, it was said F1's Swiss team could have run out of money to be able to race in China, with staff also waiting for their March payments.
But international media sources say Sauber is definitely on site at the Shanghai International Circuit, the scene of this weekend's racing.
The Swedish evening tabloid Expressen claims Sauber is secure at least for China and Russia – the next two races – thanks to driver Marcus Ericsson's backers who have also paid team staff.
The report said the saviors are individuals connected to the Swedish companies Tetra Pak, a packaging company, and fashion brand H&M (Hennes & Mauritz).
But Ericsson's manager, Eje Elgh, would not confirm the news.
"I have to question the credibility of the information that is grabbed completely from the air," he told the Swedish broadcaster Viasat.
"The project of Marcus Ericsson has nothing to do with either Hennes & Mauritz or Tetra Pak," Elgh added.
"I cannot comment on Sauber's financial situation because I have no knowledge of it. I just know that they are working hard to solve the problems.
"The fact that the team is now in China to prepare in the best way for the weekend is proof that they are going to solve the crisis that has been around for some time," he said.
04/08/16 (GMM) Sauber is working hard to find "a lasting solution" to its obvious financial problems, boss and co-owner Monisha Kaltenborn has revealed.
The struggling Swiss team was late to pay wages to its 300 staff in February and March, with driver Felipe Nasr also revealing that the delayed launch of the 2016 car was due to "non-payment of suppliers".
Brazilian Nasr left Bahrain last weekend vocally unhappy that his car was not up to scratch with that raced by teammate Marcus Ericsson.
"Marcus is using the chassis that we had in Barcelona and it works well," he told Globo. "Mine is new and, as I said, it was only assembled in Albert Park.
"Now they will disassemble and reassemble it before the first practice in China to see if they discover what is wrong," Nasr added.
But even though some sources are downplaying it, there are rumors Sauber may not have the money to make the trip next week to Shanghai.
Boss Kaltenborn was not even in Bahrain, citing 'personal reasons' for skipping the official FIA press conference but reportedly in crucial talks with a potential savior.
Blick, a Swiss publication famously close to Sauber, said Kaltenborn's talks are not just with a sponsor but an entity that could take a "majority stake in the team".
Kaltenborn commented: "We are in the process of defusing the (current) situation and finding a lasting solution to the problems."
Last month, Kaltenborn had promised staff their wages would be made on time in the future, but as they face another delay now, the 44-year-old could only apologize.
"I regret this further delay and apologize," said the Indian-born Austrian.
"I have to thank the staff for their understanding and their loyalty during this difficult time."
04/07/16 (GMM) Sauber has fallen behind once again with its full salary payments to its 300 staff in Switzerland.
Boss Monisha Kaltenborn was not in Bahrain last weekend, amid reported talks with potential buyers and rumors cash flow problems could shortly end the struggling Hinwil based team's 23-year F1 adventure.
Now, a month after similar reports about the February payments to staff, Neue Zurcher Zeitung newspaper claims Sauber has once again fallen behind for March.
Team spokesman Robert Hopoltseder confirmed: "The worries of the last few weeks are not off the table. We currently live from hand-to-mouth."
04/06/16 (GMM) Amid Sauber's obvious financial problems early in 2016, new media reports suggest the struggling Swiss team could soon be sold.
Co-owner and boss Monisha Kaltenborn was not in Bahrain last weekend, with sources reporting she stayed at Hinwil for crucial talks over the team's future.
But alarming speculation that Sauber's 23-year F1 adventure could end even before traveling to China next week may be wide of the mark.
Citing "multiple sources", Brazil's Globo said Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson will definitely be present and racing next weekend in Shanghai.
But the report also said Kaltenborn is in crucial talks over Sauber's future, and potentially with the Ferrari-linked Italian carmaker Alfa Romeo.
And separate talks may also be taking place with the wealthy Swedish backers behind current race driver Ericsson, including links to the multinational packaging company Tetra Pak.
The Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, meanwhile, cites a Swiss source who said another potential investor could be from Dubai.
04/04/16 (GMM) In the early rounds of the 2016 season, Sauber is clinging to mere survival.
The Swiss team cleared a high hurdle recently after falling behind in February wage payments to its 300 staff, but more problems are now obviously on display.
Felipe Nasr, the Brazilian driver whose sponsor Banco do Brasil is Sauber's main backer, complained vociferously throughout the Bahrain weekend about his car.
"This car is terrible to drive!" he exclaimed on team radio. Nasr also told Brazil's Globo Esporte in Bahrain: "Clearly we have some problems with my car.
"Now we need to really analyze everything before China," he added.
But there are worrying rumors that Sauber might reach the end of the road in the next couple of weeks, before making the trip to the Shanghai metropolis.
Team co-owner and boss Monisha Kaltenborn was not even in Bahrain, amid speculation she stayed behind in Hinwil to address Sauber's urgent financial problems.
"It is no secret that the fourth-oldest F1 team is in trouble," read a report in Speed Week.
Kaltenborn is a fierce critic of the sport's current revenue-distribution model which vastly favors the biggest and most successful teams.
And that is amid a backdrop of steadily declining sponsorship within the struggling sport, according to James Allen of the Financial Times.
F1 sponsorship guru Zak Brown agrees: "The costs are, to me, the single largest issue and the one that then drives many of the others.
"We have an industry that is exploding in cost, and collectively they are not able to gather and get those costs under control," he added.