Sauber to again use year old Ferrari engine in 2017

Ericsson's Sauber

(GMM) Sauber will keep using Ferrari's 2016 engine in its new car for 2017, it emerged on Friday.

Auto Motor und Sport revealed the news, even though the Swiss team's financial troubles ended earlier this year with a buyout.

But it appears the decision has been made by the Monisha Kaltenborn-led team on the basis of the delayed 2017 car project.

"Sauber's engine choice makes sense," said correspondent Michael Schmidt.

"The dimensions of the engine are all known to the engineers, and there are rumors the Swiss team could become the first Honda customer from 2018."

For Sauber, its 2017 engine will still be 'new' to the team, as the unit currently being used is an earlier 2016 Ferrari spec.

What will be in the 2017 car will be the latest 2016 specification, which was debuted by the factory Ferrari team at Monza.