Sauber claims FIA cost team sixth place

Sauber team principal, Peter Sauber, believes the FIA cost his outfit sixth place in the Constructors’ championship after banning off-throttle-blown diffusers halfway through the year.

The technology was reintroduced after the British GP, but the ban had been known about since the Monaco GP, which meant many teams stopped developing the system after just five races.

Sauber believes this is the reason they failed to match their score-rate in the second half of the season, after amassing 35 points in the first half, they could only manage 9 in the second.

Compare this to Force India, who Sauber claim gained a second per lap from continuing their off-throttle development, scored 20 in the first half and 49 in the latter.

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“For all the joy of the 7th place we have not forgotten that we wanted more,” Sauber told Blick. “We were at mid-season sound to rank 6th, then we lost out to Force India.

“Responsible for this is the blown diffuser and the so-called ‘off-throttle-blowing’ and thus the use of exhaust fumes that are generated by electronic engine control.

“We stopped this development, after the FIA had announced a ban,” he continued, “That proved to be a mistake, because the FIA backed down and allowed this bizarre technology again.

“So in the second half [of the season] we came badly on the defensive. The optimised competitive advantages of these systems achieved much more than a second per lap.”

With the rules having been settled, Sauber revealed that their 2012 car, the C31, would be an evolution of the current car.

“The issue is now settled. The rules prohibit the system for 2012 and also limit the architecture of the diffusers. Otherwise, the rule changes are moderate. Therefore, our C31 is no revolution, but a targeted evolution.”