Sauber Formula 1 boss Monisha Kaltenborn says that the decision to stick with 2016-spec Ferrari power units for the 2017 season is “not at all financially driven”.
Kaltenborn confirmed over the Japanese Grand Prix weekend that Sauber would not take updated power units for 2017 from Ferrari, saying the team preferred to focus on other areas of development.
“We know there is a big [regulation] change coming up and with the size we have and the capacities we have, we needed to focus on that change,” Kaltenborn explained further on Friday in Austin ahead of the United States Grand Prix.
“We didn’t want to wait for that long, whatever changes might come on the engine side or not. It’s clear that the engine supplier wants to develop as much as he can until the end of the possibilities, and we didn’t want to wait that long.
“We decided to work around what we know. We have sufficient information on that environment around the engine. So we can now focus totally on the chassis side and on performance development.”
Sauber has struggled financially in recent years, but had its long-term future secured over the summer when Longbow Finance completed a takeover of the operation in Switzerland.
While the decision to stick with year-old power units may seem like a money-saving exercise, Kaltenborn stressed that this was not the case.
“This is not at all financially driven. This is technically driven and we think it’s the right way ahead for us,” she said.
Toro Rosso has raced with year-old Ferrari power units throughout 2016, and has lost ground in recent races as other teams using current-spec designs have been able to continue development.
Toro Rosso will return to a Renault supply for 2017, making Sauber currently standing as the only team on the grid that will be using 2016 power units beyond the end of the season.
