FEBRUARY 6, 2012

Sauber launches C31 at Jerez

The Sauber-Ferrari C31 was unveiled today in Jerez, Spain.

The Sauber-Ferrari C31 was unveiled today in Jerez, Spain. The Swiss team will run will run the same driver lineup of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez again - having finished seventh in the team standing last year.

Team Principal Peter Sauber said, ""We're aiming to start the new season as strongly as we did in 2011, but then also to maintain this level of performance throughout the year. Our goal is to finish regularly in the points so as to put ourselves in a significantly better position in the World Championship."

"The Sauber C31-Ferrari boasts a large number of promising new developments, but in other areas it is a systematic further development of last year's car."

"We are looking forward to another season working with our young and talented drivers. Kamui will be competing in his third full season in F1. Last year we asked him to take on leadership responsibilities within the team and he has grown into the role. With his rookie season behind him Sergio is now approaching his second season, which is often the most difficult in a driver's Formula One career."

"Both drivers have huge potential and will work with the same race engineers as in 2011 to continue developing that promise. Esteban will be competing full-time in GP2 in his second season in the category and has shown - most recently in the November test - that he could also step into the car for a Grand Prix, if required."

Kamui Kobayashi said, ""2012 will be not only my third season in Formula One, but also my third with the same team. We've been through a lot together and can benefit from our shared experiences. In my first year with the team we had a bad start but a good second half to the season. The second year was the exact reverse. In our third year together we should be a reliable bet to finish consistently in the points. I'm really looking forward to the new season with the Sauber F1 Team."

Sergio Perez said, "My first year in Formula One felt like three years, there were so many new things to take in. But now I feel like I've arrived in Formula One and I'm determined to take a step up in 2012 and achieve better results for the team on a regular basis."

Reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez said, "I'm looking forward to working more with the Sauber F1 Team. I'm learning a lot by being able to experience and analyse the professionalism and intensity of the team's work from the inside. It's good preparation for me."

Chief Designer Matt Morris said, "The C31 is revolutionary where we had fresh ideas, particularly at the rear of the car, and it is an evolution where we knew we could carry over certain approaches. We had to improve on the weaknesses we identified on the C30, but at the same time we wanted to maintain its strengths."

"The current plan is to launch a fairly basic roll-out version of the car, which was defined quite some time ago. We will then be testing development parts during the upcoming weeks with a late upgrade for the first race on 18th March in Australia. Therefore the car will look quite different in Melbourne compared to the roll-out car."

Like many of it's rivals, the C31 features the ungainly stepped nose, and switches to a rear pull rod suspension.