Sauber Infrastructure Capacity

[Blown Meridian]

To my disappointment, I haven't seen any sites really cover this topic. So, I'm going to try to tap into some of the great minds on this board.

As most of you know, BMW built some of the best facilities in F1, including the most powerful computer in Europe (including government defense), a new wind tunnel equal to that of McLaren/Ferrari, etc. With Sauber's tiny budget, I'm guessing they only have the ability to utilize a fraction of their infrastructure's true potential. Do you guys agree with that assessment and how much of the C30's seemingly strong performance (if any) is left over from BMW's 2009 (and participation in the C29) versus what they've done themselves with their Virgin-like budget?

Right now, it really seems like a case of every new sponsorship and/or points money they could get really having the potential to make a big performance impact. To me, Sauber looks like a ripe potential investment for any car company that has looked into jumping into F1 with the amazing permanent investment BMW left behind. It's a real shame that teams like Virgin, just because of the name, appear to have more sponsor traction than Sauber. I'd love to see HRT/Lotus/Virgin quit and try to become a title sponsor with Sauber rather than making essentially futile independent efforts. I know teams keep these things quiet, but I'm disappointed I haven't heard any noise about any significant sponsorship negotiations or interest in the team.

[Blown Meridian]

Has this been covered somewhere I didn't notice or is this a topic w/out merit? If so, let me know...I've got a thick skin.

Hopefully, not just newb taboo.

[747heavy]

Welcome to the forum Blown Meridian

Looks like you started not the hotest topic.
Anyway, for what it is worth.
Sauber had pretty good infrastructure, even befoe the BMW take over.
The windtunnel was state of the art before and the had Albert 1.
Sure BMW has built onto this very solid fundation (Albert 2 etc.).

I´m pretty sure, that Saubers budget, while not on par with Ferrari/McLaren/RBR etc., is still a fair bit higher then the likes of Virgin and HRT.

I´m also pretty sure, that BMW still paid most of the bills in 2010, in a similar way that Honda paid for Brawn GP, to avoid high fines and redundency payments.

So, hats off to Peter Sauber, he cashed in when the time was right, and got his team/company back for free, with better infrastructure - not a bad deal at the end of the day.

I´m sure they will do o.k. , not being a "world beater" but running a solid midfield team, with the occasional strong result (podium), like Jordan in his haydays.

[Blown Meridian]

With aerodynamic efficiency being indisputably the most important factor in a chassis' performance and the tunnel and CFD comp/soft the most critical non-human tools in aero development, it seems that having the best or at least the equal of the top teams rather than just good would be very beneficial in such a fiercely competitive environment.. Albert II was 5x more powerful than Albert I (knowing how quickly processing moves I'm sure the other teams' computers have not been standing still, but BMW/Sauber kept pushing too and have put in Albert III).

Sauber had a great tunnel, but BMW's investment has ensured they will be on par technically with the big three for at least the near future. They also built new much larger buildings, departments, testing labs, preparation bays and streamlined the operation connecting the tunnel facilities to the factory. In a sentence (from GP.com) before BMW began the renovations, "The old Sauber factory - once the biggest and best in F1 - now seems small in comparison to some of the others." The important bit: Sauber's budget is reported by BusinessF1 Magazine to be even smaller than Lotus and positively dwarfed by STR, Force and Williams.

2010:
Williams £85m, Toro Rosso £82m
Force India £78m, Sauber £46m
Lotus £52m, Virgin £36m
HRT £33m

Looks can be deceiving, but besides Woking, Hinwil has the most incredible looking campus in F1. I've got to believe it's an inspiring work environment w/some of the best kit around. With the current speed they're showing, I shudder to think what they could do w/STR's budget. Bernie must not be the world mover everyone believes if he can't even steer a couple crumbs Sauber's way from some billionaire, prince or corp.

[mx_tifoso]

That's a tiny budget if correct. How much larger was it when BMW was the owner?

[nacho]

Are investments separated from the budget figures?

[Ciro Pabón]

Isn't Sauber in talks with VW? I heard something about diesels allowed just for them to jump in the boat...

[ESPImperium]

2009 saw BMW Sauber have a budget of $285m and in 2010 the same team had a budget of $85 to my estimates, as they recived the same compensatory payout from BMW that Honda gave Brawn of $85m, and with them not changing the chassis name, last year the recived prise money of arround $28m and with the Bridgestone sponsorship of $10m and other sponsorships, the team held almost $60m in budget over for 2011, and with the new sponsorship this year, and such, i heard that 2011 will see Sauber have a budget of arround $80m for the season.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Isn't Sauber in talks with VW? I heard something about diesels allowed just for them to jump in the boat...

Diesel in F1?

Do you have a source Ciro?

[Blown Meridian]

2009 saw BMW Sauber have a budget of $285m and in 2010 the same team had a budget of $85 to my estimates, as they recived the same compensatory payout from BMW that Honda gave Brawn of $85m, and with them not changing the chassis name, last year the recived prise money of arround $28m and with the Bridgestone sponsorship of $10m and other sponsorships, the team held almost $60m in budget over for 2011, and with the new sponsorship this year, and such, i heard that 2011 will see Sauber have a budget of arround $80m for the season.

BusinessF1 Magazine is the most respected source on all F1 business and finances info. It's safe to say that figure is accurate. Also, just because they receive such an such an amount of money doesn't meant it's going into their budget. So, yes, Sauber is running on a tiny, tiny budget. BMW's budget was massive. Even though Sauber has done a great job retaining a lot of staff, umagine how many more people must have been on the staff with that level of finance.

[segedunum]

...a new wind tunnel equal to that of McLaren/Ferrari, etc.

Sauber had a great wind tunnel before BMW turned up. That's why they bought them