OCTOBER 30, 1995
Wendlinger gets another F1 chance
FOLLOWING promising testing results with Sauber at Mugello recently, Karl Wendlinger was given another chance to prove that he is fit to race in F1.
Wendlinger has been associated with Sauber over five years now - having driven for the team in sportscar racing - and is in a very strong position because his personal sponsor Red Bull is not only the team's title sponsor but is also the majority shareholder in the holding company which owns Sauber.
Wendlinger did not impress in Japan and the team should now be able to concentrate on finding a team mate for Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
Johnny Herbert was the favorite for the drive until recently but Johnny appears to be keen to go to Tyrrell which means that Mark Blundell has become Sauber's first choice. The team is expected to continue with Norberto Fontana as its test driver next year.
On the engineering front, incidentally, Sauber is once again believed to be in negotiation with Ferrari to get Gustav Brunner released from his contract so that he can become technical director at Hinwil. The team's current technical director Andre de Cortanze is to join Ligier next year.