APRIL 15, 2005

Why a Sauber is suddenly attractive

The news that F1 teams have agreed to allow third drivers to be anyone who holds a Superlicence is interesting, particularly if you are a driver who has some sponsorship available and wants an F1 drive. The third driver role at Sauber is available if there is a decent driver with some money and while this might not seem much of an attraction, the team's uneasy relationship with Jacques Villeneuve is such that it is always possible that the third driver might suddenly end up in the second car. Once a third driver has experience of the Sauber there is little point in the team picking someone else for the job and going through the learning process all over again.

That is the theory at least although the reality is that there are not a whole lot of drivers out there at the moment who would be of much interest to Peter Sauber and it is by no means certain that Villeneuve will depart. The signs are not good but one decent result would shut up the rumour-mongers.