Sauber C31 Ferrari

[Neno]

I´m so happy for Sauber C31 has turned out to be a sensational car considering their budget this must be the ultimate you can achieve .

sauber is slow car compared to top teams... ferrari and sauber, just like senna's williams were set up for wet conditions, do you realy think that sauber can be candidate for the pole but today just like alonso's ferrari were in good position with a great pit-stop strategy

[bar555]

The C31 is not the only car with interesting details and several updates so far, but apparently the whole package works very well, better than many rivals for the time being. Of course second place for Perez in Malaysia is misleading according to real C31 abilities. It is very likely to see Sauber moving step by step to the back of the grid, especially when the new C32 will start absorbing more and more resources.However a sixth or even a fifth place in constructors championship seems to be a realistic target for the team .

[Huntresa]

The points taken today by Perez will go along way for Sauber, they now have an advantage over the rest of the midfield who if we have normal dry races will never get this many points in one race, and im excluding Lotus from the midfield now cause they got the pace for podium finishes, so atm with these points in the bag Sauber is looking good for that nr1 midfield spot.

[King Six]

The C31 is not the only car with interesting details and several updates so far, but apparently the whole package works very well, better than many rivals for the time being. Of course second place for Perez in Malaysia is misleading according to real C31 abilities. It is very likely to see Sauber moving step by step to the back of the grid, especially when the new C32 will start absorbing more and more resources.However a sixth or even a fifth place in constructors championship seems to be a realistic target for the team .

It's a very long season. I'd say Mercedes, Lotus and Ferrari will overhaul them eventually. 6th place in the WCC seems like a shoe-in though having already got 30 points. 5th place if they really do keep up with these results but I'm not sure out of Lotus or Mercedes (or even Ferrari) that they would displace for 5th. Williams and Force India don't look strong enough to challenge Sauber on current form and I think today's 2nd place has finished their hopes of 6th this season.

I predict 6th for Sauber. 7th Williams. 8th Force India. 9th Toro Rosso.

Ah, back to the car now. I'm really wondering how this car, especially Perez seems to be so kind on its tyres. And how Perez was so damn fast on the hard tyres compare to Alonso, the pace differential was astonishing. They don't set the world alight in qualifying but race pace is tremendous.

Certainly their race-sim on the last test was no fluke.

[Lycoming]

If they can get both cars in the points consistently and massa remains unable to get them, I think its possible for them to overhaul ferrari, though I wouldnt bet on it. The car's obviously quite solid, and doesn't have any major issues with instability as the F2012 does. Besides this they have the tactical advantage of being very effective at using its tyres. If they game their strategy right and ferrari is not able to turn the f2012 around, I think they could do it.

[Crucial_Xtreme]

Sauber C31 brake set up. Thr caliper is mounted at the back of the disc. The disc has three interlinked drillings but this design is likely to change depending on the demands of each track.

[Owen.C93]

Also from the racecar engineering article is a shot of the rear corner with the nice little cutout infront of the rear wheel. All the cars used to have little scoops to help the flow there but I thought they were outlawed after they all disappeared at once.

[Crucial_Xtreme]

Also from the racecar engineering article is a shot of the rear corner with the nice little cutout infront of the rear wheel. All the cars used to have little scoops to help the flow there but I thought they were outlawed after they all disappeared at once.

I remember in testing Ferrari used a floor that had slits in the floor by the rear tyre, although different than what Sauber is using.

[manchild]

I feared today that this team doesn't end up like Arrows Yamaha, more precisely, let's hope not, but perhaps it was Perez's only opportunity in career to score a victory in F1.

Alonso was done, and if it wasn't for that mistake Perez made, he'd be overtaken in next 2-3 laps. Also, this would be much more of a realistic victory than for example Panis' in Monaco 1996. Both Mclarens, Red Bulls, Kimi's Lotus and Alonso's Ferrari were slower than Perez's Sauber. So, it wasn't just a situation he found himself in, but a constant effort during most of the race, on both dry and wet circuit. All in all, C31 could prove to be the most overlooked and neglected car this season.

[MIKEY_!]

massive +1

[strad]

and if it wasn't for that mistake Perez made, he'd be overtaken in next 2-3 laps

IF frogs had wings they wouldn't...well you know the rest. Fact is some conditions came together to flatter the Sauber and Perez. Not to denigrate Sergio he showed he has talent if not maturity.

[Crucial_Xtreme]

Suspect Cut on the C31

Sauber has done research for the location of the exhaust gasses and the release of 'hot air from the sides (indicated by red arrow). And in Sepang, was the subject of a request for clarification for this cut (highlighted in yellow). Placed in front of the rear wheels, which allows the passage of a part of the flow by discharges in the lower zone of the lateral channels

[kilcoo316]

[Ral]

Yeah, as much as I would like to see Sauber do well, I'm kinda with Brawn on that. The famed "spirit" of the rules was clearly to not have blown diffusers any more this year. And all this malarky about exhaust positioning so the flow can stay attached and draw the air from underneath the diffuser is clearly not "incidental to the function of the exhaust".

But the FIA have given the go ahead on it, so good on the teams who have gotten it working from the get go.

[FrukostScones]

last week the flow looked like this (I know the spec is a bit different, but the inside vane stays in place.)

I doubt that the flow is jumping the vane to reach the slit, maybe the flow is split by the vane, but I doubt that this Piola guess is correct. We have seen on Maldonated's car the power/direction of the exhaust flow.