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PROFILE
Ever since the Sauber team made it's
first appearance on the grid back in 1993, they have
been consistent mid-field competitors. They have never
had any major achievements in the sport. They entered
F1 as sportscar champions with Mercedes, and the partnership
continued, with JJ Lehto finishing fifth in their first
race, allowing the team to take 6th in the constructors'
championship that year.
In 1994, Mercedes increased their support of the Swiss
team, and German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen joined.
The car was unreliable, and the personnel were demoralised
by Karl Wendlinger's accident in qualifying for Monaco,
which left him in a coma, and his career wrecked.
Mercedes left for McLaren in 1995, so the team switched
to Ford engines, and Frentzen managed to take the team's
first podium finish in Italy. Overall, however, the
season was a dissapointing one, and the same can be
said for 1996, the best result being Johnny Herbert's
3rd place at Monaco.
Ford left the team in 1997 for Stewart, and Frentzen
left for Williams. Petronas engines, which are rebadged
Ferrari engines, were used by the team. Jean Alesi drove
well for the team in 98, but fell out with team-mate
Herbert, who left for Stewart at the end of the year.
Pedro Diniz joined the team to replace the Englishman
for 1999, which was the year that Alesi fell out with
Sauber, and left for Prost. The car was unreliable again,
and finishes were rare.
2000 saw the return of Mika Salo as a regular driver
for the team, after his stand-in period at Ferrari in
99. The car was fairly reliable throughout the season,
although a scare with the rear wing at Interlagos forced
the team to pull out of that race. The team managed
8th place in the constructors' championship, beaten
to 7th by Arrows.
Sauber's chances for 2006 are not clear, as Heidfeld's
abilities never shone through during his tenure at Prost,
and controversial new signing Kimi Raikkonen has only
competed in 23 car races, and only progressed as far
as Formula Renault. The team is using the same engines
that powered Michael Schumacher to victory in the drivers'
championship in 2000, so it is up to Sauber to produce
the goods.
WEB
SITE
http://www.sauber.ch
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