Times have been tough for Sauber in recent years. I suppose you could call their BMW-powered era the glory days, but since then they have slipped from a top midfield team to the last row of the grid. However, a Swiss investment company has been backing the Hinwil outfit since last summer and, although they haven’t been able to afford the latest Ferrari power unit for 2017, it is good to see proper developments coming through from the chassis side, particularly at this early stage of the season.
In Bahrain the engine cover received a new bonded section of carbon fibre (below left) – giving it a more sail-like appearance rather than a traditional shark fin – and a McLaren-style T-wing has been installed over it for Russia (below right). Although the T-wing is, while visually striking, quite a mundane development it is one that continues to receive subtle tweaks (up and down the grid) to extract more performance from the rear aerodynamics.
Sauber showed ambition when they released the C36 with the roll-blade split airbox concept this year to benefit the lower rear-wing, but it appears as if the car’s cooling package has been severely compromised as a result. In Russia the team significantly opened up the rear bodywork and the car also featured a new inlet mid-way along the top of the engine cover (below left), which looks like it leads to the gearbox oil radiator.
The airbox is responsible for supplying air to the internal combustion engine, however many teams are now cramming it with further channels to feed the gearbox oil and ERS coolers. This means that while there is more blockage to the rear-wing directly behind, the bodywork at the rear of the car be tucked in and be more streamlined.
Despite these compromises the team have also pressed on with development around the bargeboard area by introducing a secondary board (above right) ahead of the larger existing board (painted blue). A series of serrations are present along the bottom of the new smaller board, following the trend set by Mercedes of finitely adjusting the bodywork to create the desired aerostructures. Layering bodywork in this fashion helps the air transition from the centreline of the car to the sides of the car where it can be pushed rearward for better use.
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