Monisha Kaltenborn leaves Sauber?

[Londoner]

There are a number of rumours going around Twitter this morning that Monisha Kaltenborn is to leave Sauber with immediate effect. Reputable sources such as Will Buxton and Chris Medland have stated they expect some sort of confirmation later today.

I wonder if this is Longbow Finance flexing their muscles, or even Honda taking a big stake in the team, given the McLaren partnership is sinking faster than Theresa May at this point...

[Ataxia]

And that's confirmed.

Furthermore, famed molar-botherer and possible thrift-store enthusiast Dr. Colin Kolles has been linked with the team principal's role.

[Salamander]

I'm sad to hear that Kaltenborn is going - I feel she's done the best with what F1 is these days, and a lot of people still seem to hold (unfairly IMO) a grudge against her for van der Garde's treatment.

But if Colin Kolles is coming back...?

[The Chicane]

Colin Kolles might be taking her place, he seems to be everyone's favourite default team principal.

[Wallio]

I'm sad to hear that Kaltenborn is going - I feel she's done the best with what F1 is these days, and a lot of people still seem to hold (unfairly IMO) a grudge against her for van der Garde's treatment.

But if Colin Kolles is coming back...?

Well fairly or not the whole business with Van Der Garde has allegedly tarnished her reputation in the paddock. NBC had a story up last season IIRC about how she was once one of the most respected people in F1 circles (for keeping the team afloat and being handpicked by Peter himself) but after the GvdG incident much of that goodwill went away as she came off greedy and vindictive. Likewise Drivetribe claims that the reason she is leaving/fired/whatever is over treatment of drivers, with the article claiming Longbow thinks shes being harsh. They use "anonymous sources" however, so take it with salt.

All that said, big kudos to her for the Honda deal, even if (if some other rumors are true) she got moved out to make way for them.

[mario]

I'm sad to hear that Kaltenborn is going - I feel she's done the best with what F1 is these days, and a lot of people still seem to hold (unfairly IMO) a grudge against her for van der Garde's treatment.

But if Colin Kolles is coming back...?

Well fairly or not the whole business with Van Der Garde has allegedly tarnished her reputation in the paddock. NBC had a story up last season IIRC about how she was once one of the most respected people in F1 circles (for keeping the team afloat and being handpicked by Peter himself) but after the GvdG incident much of that goodwill went away as she came off greedy and vindictive. Likewise Drivetribe claims that the reason she is leaving/fired/whatever is over treatment of drivers, with the article claiming Longbow thinks shes being harsh. They use "anonymous sources" however, so take it with salt.

All that said, big kudos to her for the Honda deal, even if (if some other rumors are true) she got moved out to make way for them.

I expect that we might see a bit of a battle in the media over that, because there have been reports painting a very different picture - that Longbow wanted her to give Ericsson favourable treatment, but she refused and insisted that Wehrlein and Ericsson were treated equally. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-s ... wn-920951/

Others, though, have suggested that the difference lay elsewhere - that Kaltenborn wanted more resources to hire new technical staff and to replace Zander after the update package he was working on had to be delayed from Spain to Monaco, only for it to underperform when it was finally introduced. By contrast, Longbow seem to have refused to hire new technical staff and wanted Zander to be kept on for longer.

[The Chicane]

Longbow should just sell their shares in the team to Honda and give them an actual works squad, Sauber isn't really getting anywhere.

[Wallio]

Longbow should just sell their shares in the team to Honda and give them an actual works squad, Sauber isn't really getting anywhere.

This is another rumor that has come up, and the "Bernie to buy Sauber" one has resurfaced.

Others, though, have suggested that the difference lay elsewhere - that Kaltenborn wanted more resources to hire new technical staff and to replace Zander after the update package he was working on had to be delayed from Spain to Monaco, only for it to underperform when it was finally introduced. By contrast, Longbow seem to have refused to hire new technical staff and wanted Zander to be kept on for longer.

That makes sense. When the Longbow deal was announced however long ago, it was done so with much fanfare, as if all their money worries were over, and it would be back to the mid pack at the very least. That hasn't happened obviously. IMO Longbow seems very reminiscent of Grenwell.....

[The Chicane]

I don't see Bernie buying Sauber (but I could be wrong), Longbow is most likely going to continue dragging the Sauber name into the dirt OR sell up to Honda which is likely.

The Sauber team is far from being a reject but what have they actually achieved in their time in F1, nothing of HUGE significance, you are in F1 to win championships not to sit around in the mid-field.

[CoopsII]

Go to Switzerland Colin Kolles!

[Wallio]

As Mario predicted the claws are well and truly out, with Longbow releasing a statement confirmimg her departure and adding that any speculation of unequal treatment is detrimental to the team.

Certainly makes Longbow look the villains here. That's an awfully specific denial.

[UncreativeUsername37]

I don't see Bernie buying Sauber (but I could be wrong), Longbow is most likely going to continue dragging the Sauber name into the dirt OR sell up to Honda which is likely.

The Sauber team is far from being a reject but what have they actually achieved in their time in F1, nothing of HUGE significance, you are in F1 to score fewer than six points not to sit around in the mid-field.

ftfy

[mario]

Others, though, have suggested that the difference lay elsewhere - that Kaltenborn wanted more resources to hire new technical staff and to replace Zander after the update package he was working on had to be delayed from Spain to Monaco, only for it to underperform when it was finally introduced. By contrast, Longbow seem to have refused to hire new technical staff and wanted Zander to be kept on for longer.

That makes sense. When the Longbow deal was announced however long ago, it was done so with much fanfare, as if all their money worries were over, and it would be back to the mid pack at the very least. That hasn't happened obviously. IMO Longbow seems very reminiscent of Grenwell.....

To be fair, there is an argument that firing Zander after just a few months in charge and making large scale alterations to the technical structure of the team might be potentially more disruptive and damaging to the performance of the team than leaving him in place and giving him an opportunity to reorganise the technical team around him.

As you say, we have seen Longbow issue their counterblast to the initial rumours leaking to the press about driver treatment. Reading the statement, I feel that it has been very carefully worded though - whilst denying that the drivers have been treated differently in the past, it does not deny the claim that they tried to pressurise Kaltenborn into treating the drivers differently.

It also denies that the drivers were treated any differently in the past or at the moment, but they have not made any commitments to treat the drivers equally in the future with that statement - and it was the future treatment of their drivers that was claimed to be a sticking point.

As things stand, it sounds as if Wehrlein isn't that pleased with developments - why would he, after all - and, when asked by the Motorsport network about it, declined to answer the question over whether or not he felt he was being treated equally by the team.

On another note, it would seem that some are now linking Vasseur to Kaltenborn's former position, having reportedly been seen visiting Sauber's headquarters recently. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-v ... 21773/?s=1

[Wallio]

NBC and Drivetribe are both reporting that the deal with Honda is off for next year, due to Monisha's departure. Now whether Honda broke the deal due to her leaving, or whether the new owners weren't keen on it, remains to be seen. No confirmation yet however.

[This Could Be You]

Perhaps the loss of Honda may have been influenced by former ART man Frederic Vasseur as team principal - although relations may have soured due to his dismissal from Enstone last year, I wouldn't be that surprised to see Sauber using Caterham's old customer Renault deal (which was earlier mentioned in relation to Mclaren) in 2018 instead of the Hondas...

[mario]

NBC and Drivetribe are both reporting that the deal with Honda is off for next year, due to Monisha's departure. Now whether Honda broke the deal due to her leaving, or whether the new owners weren't keen on it, remains to be seen. No confirmation yet however.

The reports via the motorsport network suggest that the deal had been agreed, but not signed, when Kaltenborn was dismissed from the team, with the new management of the team taking the attitude that they wanted to either upgrade to the latest specification Ferrari engine or, perhaps through Wehrlein, secure a deal with Mercedes instead.

[Wallio]

NBC and Drivetribe are both reporting that the deal with Honda is off for next year, due to Monisha's departure. Now whether Honda broke the deal due to her leaving, or whether the new owners weren't keen on it, remains to be seen. No confirmation yet however.

The reports via the motorsport network suggest that the deal had been agreed, but not signed, when Kaltenborn was dismissed from the team, with the new management of the team taking the attitude that they wanted to either upgrade to the latest specification Ferrari engine or, perhaps through Wehrlein, secure a deal with Mercedes instead.

So does that mean the end of Honda after this year?

[mario]

NBC and Drivetribe are both reporting that the deal with Honda is off for next year, due to Monisha's departure. Now whether Honda broke the deal due to her leaving, or whether the new owners weren't keen on it, remains to be seen. No confirmation yet however.

The reports via the motorsport network suggest that the deal had been agreed, but not signed, when Kaltenborn was dismissed from the team, with the new management of the team taking the attitude that they wanted to either upgrade to the latest specification Ferrari engine or, perhaps through Wehrlein, secure a deal with Mercedes instead.

So does that mean the end of Honda after this year?

It is possible that they could end up being forced to leave if Sauber will cut their ties and if McLaren also looks to a customer engine deal (though the rumours that McLaren are considering running a customer Ferrari engine sound a little far fetched). It does seem unlikely we'll have a new team in 2018 that Honda could partner with, and it seems unlikely that Honda would be prepared to go to the extent of creating a full works team.

[Wallio]

Nobuharu Matsushita, a Honda backed driver, to run for Sauber in the post Hungry test. Hmmmm.

[Henrique]

It happened!

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/356327/sauber-cancels-planned-honda-partnership/

[Wallio]

Well that's that. You gotta think this hurts Honda more.

[Peteroli34]

I know the Honda has been unreliably but for Honda to breakdown before the engine got anywhere near the car is bad

On a more serous note what now for Sauber and Honda

[watka]

Honda are gone surely? It's been a disaster and even the slowest, poorest team on the grid won't take up the opportunity to be a works team. They won't enter their own team as it's too late in the season and they aren't going to come up with a chassis better than McLaren realistically.

Sauber must be on the brink now too. I don't know where this leaves them. They either have to go crawling back to Ferrari, go to a Renault team who Vasseur left on uncertain terms or go to Mercedes who have enough other teams' on their plate already. At this stage, I can't see them having to pay anything other than top dollar.

[CoopsII]

Well, what do you know? F1 really is a shop window for engineering excellence and Sauber have clearly seen whats in Hondas window and decided no engine at all would be better than one of theirs.

Unless there's some point of contention on Hondas side which hasn't come to light. Which would just mean they've lost the PR race to Sauber too.

[sswishbone]

Ferrari engines with Charles LeClerc replacing Marcus Erricson.

[Ataxia]

Yep, Sauber has managed to secure latest-spec Ferrari engines for next season. Obviously, that's probably going to mean either Giovinazzi or Leclerc will come in, leaving Wehrlein out in the cold.

Vasseur seems to be sorting things out with the minimum of fuss.

[mario]

Honda are gone surely? It's been a disaster and even the slowest, poorest team on the grid won't take up the opportunity to be a works team. They won't enter their own team as it's too late in the season and they aren't going to come up with a chassis better than McLaren realistically.

Sauber must be on the brink now too. I don't know where this leaves them. They either have to go crawling back to Ferrari, go to a Renault team who Vasseur left on uncertain terms or go to Mercedes who have enough other teams' on their plate already. At this stage, I can't see them having to pay anything other than top dollar.

Given the comments McLaren made a while ago - where they accused Mercedes and Ferrari of not wanting to supply them with an engine because they feared they would be too competitive - would suggest to me that McLaren might be sticking with Honda, if for nothing else than because they aren't able to secure an alternative power unit.

As for Sauber, we've got an answer to your question pretty quickly given that they've now announced they'll be using Ferrari engines instead. As Ataxia notes, the speed with which they secured a current spec engine - one that they were unable to afford this year - does raise the question of whether they've agreed to run one of Ferrari's junior drivers. Giovinazzi had commented that he trusted that Ferrari would help his career on the back of his test for Haas, and given that he has already driven for Sauber at the start of this year, I wouldn't be surprised if he crops up at Sauber for 2018.

[watka]

It's got to be something like that, hasn't it? I can't see how Sauber have managed to get latest spec engines without bargaining something else (that something else surely not being money). Latest spec engines also make sense if they are running a Ferrari junior driver as it will give Ferrari a better indication of how well they (fingers closed "they" means Leclerc) perform.

[mario]

It's got to be something like that, hasn't it? I can't see how Sauber have managed to get latest spec engines without bargaining something else (that something else surely not being money). Latest spec engines also make sense if they are running a Ferrari junior driver as it will give Ferrari a better indication of how well they (fingers closed "they" means Leclerc) perform.

In the past, they used to trade time in their wind tunnel to Ferrari in return for a discount on engines and transmissions. They might be doing that as well, but it's not as valuable an asset now that Ferrari has their partnership with Haas, enabling them to draw on both Dallara's facilities and that of Haas's Windshear facility.

As you say, the best thing they can trade now is a seat for one of Ferrari's junior drivers, with Ferrari using their ties with Sauber as a way of evaluating their potential choices. My initial feeling is that they might want to play it both ways by having Giovinazzi driving one car, but Leclerc placed as a reserve driver with the option to drive in Friday practise sessions so they can compare the two drivers against each other.

[watka]

Whoever they choose, I wouldn't be sad to see the last of Ericsson...

[BigG80]

Crazy as it might sound, how about both Giovinazzi and Leclerc in Saubers next year?

Ok Giovinazzi hasn't covered himself in glory this year with what is it now, 3 crashes? But he's obviously quick and he's been credited with the Ferrari pole by Sky F1, make of that what you will. I find it a bit over sensationalist personally.

Leclerc appears to be a very special driver indeed. Although that doesn't always translate to being quick in F1. Yeah, I'm looking at you Vandoorne, come at me bro!

But in all seriousness, Vandoorne is the last driver that appeared to be a superstar who has come from GP2 and he's struggled this season. Will Leclerc have similar issues or will he become what I hope he is; Bianchi incarnate.

[novitopoli]

Considering Ericsson is footing the bills, I think it will be Wehrlein who'll have to make way.
He'll probably be shipped to Force India, with a Wehrlein - Ocon lineup making them a Mercedes B-team and Perez having to look for another seat (Renault? McLaren?)

[mario]

Considering Ericsson is footing the bills, I think it will be Wehrlein who'll have to make way.
He'll probably be shipped to Force India, with a Wehrlein - Ocon lineup making them a Mercedes B-team and Perez having to look for another seat (Renault? McLaren?)

Yes, I'd agree it is very unlikely that Ericsson would be leaving the team in the near future, so you probably won't see a Leclerc-Giovinazzi line up (though I can see one of those two at Sauber in a race seat with the other as the reserve driver with Friday practise sessions).

Wehrlein is likely to be on the way out of the team, if as much because it's been suggested that he's not particularly happy or impressed with the new management at Sauber. There could be other options too, since it is possible that Massa will retire for good at the end of this season - that could open up the option of placing Wehrlein at Williams instead, enabling them to leave Ocon at Force India (where it might be better for him to stay and bed in for another year at that team).

[dinizintheoven]

The further complication of that is, is not-quite-23-year-old Pascal Wehrlein "senior" enough to keep the sponsors at Martini happy until Lance Stroll turns 21, so there are no problems in America? I was under the impression they had to sign a driver who was 25 or more for this season.

[Miguel98]

The further complication of that is, is not-quite-23-year-old Pascal Wehrlein "senior" enough to keep the sponsors at Martini happy until Lance Stroll turns 21, so there are no problems in America? I was under the impression they had to sign a driver who was 25 or more for this season.

It's one of the clauses in the contract of Martini I think.