TEAM RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS
F1 Team Info F1 Driver Info  F1 Archives  Homepage
1999 Statistics  Leader Board   Formula Uno Numero Club

2002 season driver - Brazilian Felipe Massa

Rising to the Season Challenge
Technical Data Red Bull Sauber Petronas C18
Going for the Best
V10: Power is the Word
Technical Data Sauber Petronas V10
Where Dreams get Wheels
Team List: Who is Who
Drivers Information: Jean Alesi & Pedro Diniz
Official Sauber Team Web Site & Other Sauber Links

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE

Team RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS enters the Formula One season with ambition, motivation and hunger for success, boosted by last year’s result, in fact the best the team has ever achieved in Formula One.

Team Principal Peter Sauber has no problem explaining the Hinwil race team’s optimism:
“Our new RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS C18 will be powered by one of the most powerful and successful Formula One engines; with Jean Alesi and Pedro Diniz we have two experienced and strong drivers, and during the past months we have been able to strengthen the team in terms of personnel, technical, organisational and financial resources.
This should provide us with the necessary qualities to catch up with the top Formula One teams.  We have no illusions: the season will be a difficult and demanding one. However, we will rise to this challenge, and we are optimistic that we will make progress.   The goal at the end of the road is simple: We want to be one of the top teams in Formula One, which means winning races as soon as possible.”

A new power boost for the new RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS C18 will come from the newly introduced SAUBER PETRONAS V10 engine with the SPE 03A specification. This engine which marks the continuation of the good and trustful co-operation with Ferrari, is one of the most advanced and successful examples of current Formula One engines. With it, the Maranello team secured a total of 6 Grand Prix victories, 19 podium finishes and 3 pole positions in 1998.

Compared to its predecessor this engine is lighter, clearly more powerful due to higher revs, and can operate on higher temperatures due to the use of most advanced materials, thus allowing for smaller radiators which in turn improve the car’s aerodynamic efficiency. “With this up-to-date engine we clearly move closer to the top teams in Formula One in terms of power”, Osamu Goto, head of the engine department at SAUBER PETRONAS ENGINEERING AG, is convinced.

With Frenchman Jean Alesi and Brazilian Pedro Diniz, both cockpit positions are filled with strong and experienced drivers for the 1999 season.  Jean Alesi’s talents lie in speed and excellent driving mastery combined with reliability and the commitment to move the team ahead in his second season at RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS.   With Pedro Diniz he has a team mate in 1999, who wants to prove to the sceptics that equipped with a competitive race car, he has no problems competing in terms of speed and reliability.

“I am convinced that we have two highly motivated drivers who will work well together and push the team, just as we will put the pressure on, in order to make the necessary progress”, Peter Sauber emphasises.  “There will be no clear number one and two in our team, in any case.  Both drivers are on absolutely equal terms and will receive identical material.”

With the new RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS C18 the drivers have a completely new car at their disposal for the 1999 season which apart from the engine was completely designed and built in Hinwil.  Although no essential part of its predecessor was carried over onto the new model, it is in principle an evolution of the C17, whereby every single part was carefully optimised.  The search for an optimal aerodynamic efficiency was one of the designers’ main priorities.

The new SAUBER PETRONAS V10 engine transmits its power to a newly designed seven gear longitudinal gearbox with magnesium housing, which has been built even more compact.   The suspension has new torsion bar springs on both front and rear axles, on the front end turned by 90 degrees and horizontally mounted for space and aerodynamic reasons.

Such a new car obviously needs a new look. Again in the 1999 season, the RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS C18’s basic colour is the green of partner Petronas, combined with the familiar Red Bull blue and the prominently positioned name of new partner Parmalat on the rear wing.  The visual design was created in close co-operation with Fabrizio Giugiaro, head of the ‘styling department’ at the renowned Italian company Italdesign.  The result is a combination of shapes and colours, supporting the dynamic lines of the most recent Hinwil Formula One car and lending it an effective and eye-catching expression.

As in Formula One a standstill inevitably means a step back, in this quest for the optimum the team itself has not held back either.  With the aid of external consultants Team RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS underwent scrutineering in 1998.  The results and recommendations made from this study have been or will be quickly put into action to optimise the organisation as well as working methods to improve efficiency and effectiveness.  The focus is on the implementation of a new organisational and management structure, further personnel improvements with qualified experts, investments in the research and development department, and finally a distinctive budget increase which last season amounted to about 100 million Swiss Francs.

“I believe that a lot can be said about the character of the team which is not afraid of self-criticism”, was Peter Sauber’s comment on the efforts being made.   “We have taken the recommendations from this project as an incentive to act, in order to improve and to be in the end more successful.  RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS is a team which will do everything it can to be successful.”

Click here for more F1 Grand Prix driving games		Click here for more discount F1 & Motor Sport magazines

TECHNICAL DATA RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS C18

Chassis:    Carbon fibre monocoque
Engine:    SPE 03A
Front Suspension:    Upper and lower wishbones, inboard springs and dampers (Sachs), actuated by pushrods
Rear Suspension:    Upper and lower wishbones, inboard springs and dampers (Sachs), actuated by pushrods
Brakes:    Six-piston calipers (Brembo) front and rear; carbon pads and discs (Carbone Industries/Hitco)
Transmission:    Semi-automatic, longitudinally mounted,
seven-speed transmission (Sauber), carbon clutch (Sachs)
Chassis Electronics:    Magneti Marelli
Tyres:    Bridgestone
Wheels:    O.Z. 13 inch
Dimensions:    Length:    4.410 mm
Width:    1.800 mm
Height:     1.000 mm
Front Track:    1.470 mm
Rear Track:    1.410 mm
Wheel base:     2.980 mm
Weight:    600 kg (including liquids and driver)

GOING FOR THE BEST

The dream profession of a Formula One designer has a hitch: Having just about overcome the confusion of the 1998 regulations, an almost contrary task has to be mastered for 1999.  For in Formula One it is almost a law of nature that revolution is followed by evolution. For Leo Ress, Technical Director at RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS, this means that his small notebook where he spontaneously writes down all potential improvements to the current car, is being filled soon after the presentation of the latest model.

Consequently he summarises: “As usual we have put a completely new car on wheels, where almost no previous parts have been carried over.  The new RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS C18 is still no more but no less than an evolution of C17, on which we have in fact optimised every single component.”

The designers’ efforts are significant in the figure and line of the new RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS C18 where as usual the concept phase began as early as June.   When it comes to the design of wings, side pods, engine cover or diffuser of a Formula One car, the aim of all endeavours is aerodynamic efficiency.  In order to reach optimal results in this respect, the 50 per cent model of the new RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS C18 has, up to the presentation of the car in January 1999, been exposed to the wind for about 20 weeks.  The wind tunnel work is accomplished by the RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS aerodynamic specialists in the wind tunnel at the Swiss Institution for Aircrafts and Systems (SF) in Emmen/Switzerland.  This work allows no standstill, as wind tunnel testing obviously continues relentlessly up to the beginning of and throughout the season.  What seems to be the optimum today, may not always be the end of the line.

Below the composite skin there are more significant changes.  These include primarily the considerably more powerful SAUBER PETRONAS SPE 03A V10 engine.  Its lower installation height, lower weight and higher operating temperature help lower the centre of gravity, have a positive influence on weight distribution and allow for the fitting of smaller radiators.  The result is also an aerodynamic advantage.  The new engine transmits its power to a newly designed longitudinal gearbox which now has seven gears and one reverse gear.  Its magnesium housing has, however, been designed even more compact than its predecessor.  The new package which comes with new engine and chassis electronic systems (step 8) from our reliable supplier Magneti Marelli, has already been tested and approved by the engineers.

Further innovations are to be found in the RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS C18 suspension system.  Both front and rear suspensions boast torsion bar springs which will optimise the car.  For aerodynamic and space reasons they have been turned by 90 degrees and mounted horizontally, thus eliminating the characteristic two “bull horns” on the front axle.

SAUBER PETRONAS V10: POWER IS THE WORD

Team RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS expects a substantial boost from the new power source of its Formula One cars, in the pursuit of its ambitious goals for the 1999 season.  The new RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS C18 will enter the 1999 season with one of the most advanced and powerful Formula One engines, carrying the specification SPE 03A.  One thing which will be appreciated by Jean Alesi and Pedro Diniz above all, in qualifying and in the race: Compared to its predecessor the SAUBER PETRONAS SPE 03A, will have strong and distinctively increased performance, thanks, among other things, to the further increase of maximum revs.

Despite numerous modifications and extensive development work by SAUBER PETRONAS ENGINEERING AG engineers, last year’s engine was based on an engine which technical partner Ferrari had used at the end of 1996.  The engine for the 1999 season is a completely new design and has been used successfully in the 1998 season with six Grand Prix victories, nineteen podium finishes and three pole positions, to its credit.
The SAUBER PETRONAS SPE 03A for the 1999 season has nothing in common with the previous season’s engine.  This is apparent at first glance, for compared to its predecessor, it boasts a cylinder angle which has been widened from 75 to 80 degrees.   The positive result for the total package engine/car has been a lower centre of gravity together with aerodynamic advantages as a consequence of the lower installation height of the engine.
As it should be with a completely new design, the engineers have succeeded in making the engine lighter compared to its predecessor.  At the same time the use of state-of-the-art materials from latest engine development enable the SAUBER PETRONAS SPE 03A engine to run at higher operating temperatures.  This, in turn, allows for the use of smaller radiators which enable chassis designers and aerodynamicists to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the car.

TECHNICAL DATA SAUBER PETRONAS V10

Official Designation:    SPE 03A
Number of Cylinders:    10
Configuration:    80-degree vee
Displacement:    2997 cc
Cylinder block:    Aluminium
Number of Main Bearings:    6
Number of Camshafts:    4 OHC
Camshaft Drive:    Gears
Number of Valves:    40
Valve Mechanism:    Pneumatic
Ignition System:    Magneti Marelli
Injection:    Magneti Marelli
Oil System:    Dry sump
Weight:    Less than 120 kilos
Dimensions:    Length:    625 mm     Width:    592 mm    Height:     396 mm

WHERE DREAMS GET WHEELS

The small town of Hinwil in the Zurich Highlands is probably not, at first sight, the place you would expect to find a highly developed Formula One centre equipped to the finest technical detail.  But it is only a few steps from here that Peter Sauber, since he began back in 1970, builds his race cars.

The development of High Technology within the field of motor racing has always fascinated the now 55 year-old Team Principal, having to prove technical competence against strong competition on the race track.  While some of today’s competitors were already active in the supreme class of motorsport, Peter Sauber started very modestly with sporting variations of the Volkswagen Beetle.  Soon after, Peter Sauber took a step from Beetle tuning to building two-seated open sportscars. The beginning of a long series was made by the C1 which was designed in the basement of his parents’ appartment.

For the car’s name, the constructor chose the first initial of his wife’s name Christiane, a tribute to the patience with which she has accepted her husband’s frequent absences from home.  A nice idea became tradition: Until this day all Sauber constructions carry the initial C in their names.

The fact that some Sauber oldtimers are still being operated in full function up to now, speaks for the quality of the early days’ work.  In the beginning the boss raced the cars himself.  But after some notable success as a driver Sauber switched from the driving wheel to the constructor’s desk.  Soon the name Sauber was also to be known outside Switzerland.  The Hinwil technology plant did not have too long to wait for success.

From 1988, Sauber-Mercedes was to pilot the official return of the renowned manufacturer to motor racing.  Highlights of this partnership include a double win at Le Mans in 1989 and both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ World Championships won in 1989 and again in 1990.  Among the drivers making history at Sauber-Mercedes in 1990 and 1991 were three young men forming a great junior team: Michael Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Karl Wendlinger.

Peter Sauber took the plunge alone into Formula One in 1993.  The partnership with Mercedes was briefly revived before Red Bull Sauber became Ford’s official works team for two years.  The 79 World Championship points up to the end of 1998, were scored by the drivers JJ Lehto, Karl Wendlinger, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Andrea De Cesaris, Jean-Christophe Boullion, Nicola Larini, Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi.

From 1995 strong partners have been backing the team.  Shareholders at Red Bull Sauber Holding based in Vaduz/Principality of Liechtenstein are Energy Drink producer Red Bull holding the capital majority, Fritz Kaiser Group (FKG) and Peter Sauber.  With Petronas, the national Malaysian Petroleum Company, a longterm contract was signed which secures a co-operation that goes far beyond the usual in Formula One.  Since 1997 RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS has been structuring its own engine competence.  The entry into the fascinating world of high performance race engines has been made possible by a two-year contract with Ferrari concerning technical co-operation.  Sauber Petronas Engineering AG, a Joint-Venture with partner Petronas founded in spring 1996, is not only active in the construction and development of race engines but also markets technological Formula One competence commercially.  Commisioned by Petronas, a new commercial road engine was presented in 1998.  15 Malaysian engineers working in Hinwil substantially contributed to its design which contains Formula One know-how.  With the workspace of the SAUBER PETRONAS ENGINEERING engineers, the circle is complete: The subsidiary company resides 200 metres from the headquarters in the building where the successful sportscars were built up to 1991.

In Sauber’s centre in Hinwil amidst green fields a high tech factory with a total of 8,000 square metres hosts more than 200 specialists working exclusively for the F1 project.  About another 50 employees working for suppliers in the vicinity, are occupied solely producing F1 components for RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS.

For the construction of the race cars, the team have highly modernised CAD systems and an infrastructure for the production of all mechanical parts as well as their own two autoclaves which produce most composite parts.  In a newly built extension to the main building a seven-post-rig will be put into operation in 1999, which enables the engineers to simulate the exact dynamic behaviour of all suspension components on any race track.  All this equipment to put Formula One dreams on wheels.

TEAM RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS: WHO IS WHO

Team Principal:    Peter Sauber
Chief Operating Officer:    Jost Capito
Technical Director:    Leo Ress
Engine Director:    Osamu Goto
Marketing Director:    Daniel Zimmermann
Team Manager:    Beat Zehnder
Press Officer:    NNPR / Marketing Services:    Uta Müller
Research and Development:    Andrew Tilley
Track Engineering:    Tim Preston
Race Engineer Jean Alesi:    Gabriele Delli Colli
Race Engineer Pedro Diniz:    Steve Clark
Chief Mechanic:    Urs Kuratle

OFFICIAL RED BULL SAUBER PETRONAS TEAM WEBSITE

F1 Team Info F1 Driver Info  F1 Archives  Homepage
1999 Statistics  Leader Board   Formula Uno Numero Club