The suggestion that is being shopped around is that Sauber's owners have decided that they do not want to push ahead with the announced plan for the team to use Honda engines. Honda and Sauber announced at the end of April that the Japanese firm would become a "technological partner" for 2018 and that the new partnership would constitute "a cornerstone" for the team's future. At the time, Katsuhide Moriyama, the head of the Honda brand, said that Sauber would become "a customer racing team" for Honda, alongside the partnership with McLaren. But there were clear indications that McLaren and Honda might split and so it appears that Sauber and Honda were waiting to complete the full agreements which would likely have made the team the Honda factory operation in the future.
The departure of Sauber CEO Monisha Kaltenborn, who found it impossible to work with the new chairman and was not supported by the owner, changed everything. Sauber did not know what to do and began chasing a series of people. It gradually became clear that, for various reasons, the only realistic choice for the role was Frédéric Vasseur, who was previously team principal of Renault F1 but departed because he did not have the power he felt he needed to properly form the team. Vasseur has built a very successful empire and has no financial worries for the future and so was in a position to try to fulfil his ambitions in Formula 1.
In the negotiations with Sauber he was clearly in the driving seat as the team had no other real choice, which explains why it took so long for the agreement to happen. Among his demands, it seems, was the insistence that Sauber should not use Honda engines in the future.
There was speculation that this would lead to a Mercedes engine deal for the team, as Vasseur is close to Toto Wolff (left), the man in charge of the Mercedes F1 team. This would have suited Wolff, who has been trying to avoid McLaren getting Mercedes engines, for fear that the Woking team might beat the factory operation, despite the fact that his bosses (and partners, because he owns shares in the team) in Stuttgart have been pushing for a McLaren-Mercedes deal.
There was speculation that this would lead to a Mercedes engine deal for the team, as Vasseur is close to Toto Wolff (left), the man in charge of the Mercedes F1 team. This would have suited Wolff, who has been trying to avoid McLaren getting Mercedes engines, for fear that the Woking team might beat the factory operation, despite the fact that his bosses (and partners, because he owns shares in the team) in Stuttgart have been pushing for a McLaren-Mercedes deal.
However, supplying four teams is impossible unless the FIA agrees to it and it seems that the federation is rather keen to avoid increasing the political clout of Mercedes within F1 and so was baulking at allowing it to take on another team (although Mercedes did have four teams last year before Manor went bust).
Having said that, it seems that the bilateral commercial deals between the teams and the Commercial Rights Holder, may a contain different terms and that the Formula 1 Commission must agree to a manufacturer being allowed to supply more than four teams, which meant that Wolff could stop McLaren getting a Mercedes supply if he could sign up Sauber.
It looks as though the politicking has stopped McLaren getting Mercedes engines, but in turn this has meant that Sauber cannot have them either and so it is expected that the Swiss team will stay with Ferrari next year (probably with up to date engines) and will take on rising star and Ferrari protege Charles Leclerc as part of the deal. Given that the owners of Sauber seem keen to keep Marcus Ericsson, rather than the quicker Pascal Wehrlein (a Mercedes driver), there are likely to be some interesting discussions over the driver line-up. Vasseur is believed to have insisted also that he have control over driver choice. He is a fan of Stoffel Vandoorne, who has been having an uncomfortable time at McLaren of late, but has recently perked up probably because of all the politics going on around him.
The indications are that McLaren will still split with Honda but that is not yet finalised because the Japanese have one chance left with McLaren waiting until September before making a final decision and Honda appearing to finally be making progress. If the decision is confirmed that there will be a split, Honda would appear to be in trouble without a team for 2018, but the signs are that the Japanese engines could go to Toro Rosso with Honda either buying the team or Red Bull agreeing to the deal on the basis that Toro Rosso would be the guinea pig until the Honda engines are ready and then they would be handed over to Red Bull Racing and the team would then have a factory engine and be in a position to challenge again.
In the interim, McLaren would go with Renault for a year or two, during which the firm will develop its own F1 engines (ready for the 2021 rules), after which it would become its own engine supplier. McLaren is already making its own road car engines and the logical next step is to have its own F1 engines as well.
Vasseur starts at Sauber today and it will be interesting to see how he does. The deal he has struck with the Sauber owners is to spend most of his time in Zurich but not to actually live there. He does not speak German which will make life interesting with the workforce, but the primary strategic move will be to get the cars more competitive. This will involve a revamp of the technical team and Vasseur may not agree with the way things have been run by Jorg Zander.
It is still a huge gamble for Vasseur, which could easily end up with failure, but the team has good facilities and good people, even if recruitment is a problem. One must also suppose that Vasseur has been promised a certain level of funding by the shareholders, or at least has been given the power to find the money himself.
Having said that, it seems that the bilateral commercial deals between the teams and the Commercial Rights Holder, may a contain different terms and that the Formula 1 Commission must agree to a manufacturer being allowed to supply more than four teams, which meant that Wolff could stop McLaren getting a Mercedes supply if he could sign up Sauber.
It looks as though the politicking has stopped McLaren getting Mercedes engines, but in turn this has meant that Sauber cannot have them either and so it is expected that the Swiss team will stay with Ferrari next year (probably with up to date engines) and will take on rising star and Ferrari protege Charles Leclerc as part of the deal. Given that the owners of Sauber seem keen to keep Marcus Ericsson, rather than the quicker Pascal Wehrlein (a Mercedes driver), there are likely to be some interesting discussions over the driver line-up. Vasseur is believed to have insisted also that he have control over driver choice. He is a fan of Stoffel Vandoorne, who has been having an uncomfortable time at McLaren of late, but has recently perked up probably because of all the politics going on around him.
The indications are that McLaren will still split with Honda but that is not yet finalised because the Japanese have one chance left with McLaren waiting until September before making a final decision and Honda appearing to finally be making progress. If the decision is confirmed that there will be a split, Honda would appear to be in trouble without a team for 2018, but the signs are that the Japanese engines could go to Toro Rosso with Honda either buying the team or Red Bull agreeing to the deal on the basis that Toro Rosso would be the guinea pig until the Honda engines are ready and then they would be handed over to Red Bull Racing and the team would then have a factory engine and be in a position to challenge again.
In the interim, McLaren would go with Renault for a year or two, during which the firm will develop its own F1 engines (ready for the 2021 rules), after which it would become its own engine supplier. McLaren is already making its own road car engines and the logical next step is to have its own F1 engines as well.
Vasseur starts at Sauber today and it will be interesting to see how he does. The deal he has struck with the Sauber owners is to spend most of his time in Zurich but not to actually live there. He does not speak German which will make life interesting with the workforce, but the primary strategic move will be to get the cars more competitive. This will involve a revamp of the technical team and Vasseur may not agree with the way things have been run by Jorg Zander.
It is still a huge gamble for Vasseur, which could easily end up with failure, but the team has good facilities and good people, even if recruitment is a problem. One must also suppose that Vasseur has been promised a certain level of funding by the shareholders, or at least has been given the power to find the money himself.
Source: JSNL
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