Sauber to get FIA green-light on Monday

(GMM) With the Qadbak uncertainty now past and Peter Sauber back in charge, the Hinwil based team's Swiss founder says he is expecting to see the green light from the FIA on Monday.

The 66-year-old's newly announced re-purchase of the team he sold to BMW in 2005 will only be completed when the FIA confirms Sauber as an official entrant in next year's world championship.

"We expect the entry in the coming week," Sauber told the Swiss daily Blick, adding that the other forthcoming milestone is a signature on the new Concorde Agreement.

Blick said Sauber's official FIA entry could be formalized as soon as Monday.

He added that the progression of the new car is "very good", crediting a "better than ever" technical collaboration with Ferrari, to supply the engine and transmission in 2010.

The last Ferrari-powered Sauber was 2005's C24, raced by Felipe Massa and Jacques Villeneuve. The Hinwil-built 2010 car will be called the C29, Peter Sauber confirmed.

Blick said the official team name likely to be announced by the FIA on Monday will be Team Sauber F1, with the competitor to be known initially as Sauber-Ferrari and to receive the final race numbers 26 and 27.

A resumption of the naming collaboration with Malaysian oil sponsor Petronas could result in the team again being known as Sauber-Petronas, the newspaper added.