Rüdiger 'Gremlin' Gemmrig: Sauber-News-Page

Sun, 01-Nov-1998	The Sauber drivers started from position 11 and 12 into the Japanese GP. The first time since a number of races Johnny Herbert had outqualified his teammate Jean Alesi. There were some battles for positions. In the end Jean Alesi was seventh and Johnny Herbert 10th. Mika Hakkinen claimed his first Formula One title on Sunday after rival Michael Schumacher was forced out the Japanese Grand Prix when the right rear tyre exploded on his Ferrari. The Sauber Team ended the season with the 6th position in the Constructors Championship with 10 points. Next year they will get this years Ferrari engine and the new driver Pedro Diniz, who replaces Johnny Herbert, is not as bad as some people say. This year he was sometimes better than his high estimated teammate Mika Salo at Arrows. ->GP Timetable
Sun, 27-Sep-1998	It was a good race start without the mess in the first corner as last year. But then Johnny Herbert had to retire in lap 37 and Jean Alesi was struggling with his Goodyear tyres getting worse just as the other Goodyear drivers did. In the end he had to settle on 10th position. All the weekend Sauber did not find the right car setup for the tyres. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 26-Sep-1998	The Sauber Team did not find the appropriate setup for the new Goodyear tyres for the qualifying session and this left Jean Alesi on the 11th position on the starting grid and Johnny Herbert on 13th. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 25-Sep-1998	Johnny Herbert was 17th fastest of the free practice sessions for the Grand Prix of Luxembourg at the Nürburgring track. Jean Alesi was 14th fastest. ->GP Timetable
Sun, 13-Sep-1998	Johnny Herbert had a difficult race at riday's Italian Grand Prix and eventually spun out because of a pair of pliers, which got caught up in the pedals. «It's just stupid,» said Herbert afterwards. «I had a pair of pliers bouncing around inside the cockpit,» said Herbert. Herbert who will join Stewart next season also said, «It is not very clever when the mechanics leave things in the car.» Jean Alesi performed well and secured 2 championship points for 5th position. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 12-Sep-1998	In the qualifying session a long time no car showed up on the track. In the closing stages of the session all 22 cars were on the track. Jean Alesi was out on the track early and held the pole position for a long time. But in the end he had to settle for 8th position. The times were close together. Johnny Herbert did not found a free lap and qualified far back at 15th position. After a excursion into the gravel trap he could recover the car but could not improve on his laptime. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 11-Sep-1998	The free practice sessions for the GP of Italy at Monza were held first under dry conditions. Later on the rain started. Due to electrical problems on his car Jean Alesi could not drive a single timed lap. Johnny Herbert drove the 12th fastest lap. On Tuesday it was known that Johnny Herbert will leave the Sauber Team at the end of this season. He will move to the Stewart Team where he signed a two-year-contract. This and Heinz-Harald Frentzen's move to the Jordan Team leaves the question about the second cockpit for the Sauber Team. A most likely candidate would be the current test driver Jörg Müller from Germany. He is fast and the engineers like his technical brains. He proved to be a winning driver when he won the European Formula 3000 Championship in 1996. Another possibility would be F3000 shooting star Nick Heidfeld from Germany too. Jean Alesi prolongued his contract already in July. ->GP Timetable
Sun, 30-Aug-1998	What a race! What a mess! It started with a collision between 13 cars initiated presumably by Eddie Irvine who touched Coulthard's McLaren. After Coulthard's resulting spin all following cars crashed into each other. Johnny Herbert was in the center of this chaos. He just wanted to escape but there ware so much cars crashing around him and debris flying through the air that he became a victim. At his rainy conditions no one could see anything. After nearly one hour the restart was better but leaving Mika Hakkinen who tangled with Michael Schumacher's Ferrari in a destroyed McLaren. Unfortunately Johnny Herbert again was involved when he could not avoid crashing into the spun McLaren of Hakkinen. After a safety car phase another start was initiated. Jean Alesi fought with Heinz-Harald Frentzen for 4th position. After Michael Schumacher crashed his Ferrari into Coulthard's McLaren there was another safety car phase. Another restart was made with Damon Hill leading. Jean Alesi was keen on a better position and made ground on both leading Jordan drivers Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher. He put pressure on Ralf Schumacher until the end but then had to settle on 3rd position. But a respactable result for the Sauber Team in a crazy Grand Prix given the fact that Herbert coul not participate anymore after the second incident. The Jordan-Team celebrated its first GP victory with Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher in a one-two-row. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 29-Aug-1998	For Sauber there is always a difference between on one hand performance in practice sessions and races and on the other hand the qualifying sessions. The car can not be fully setup for the single fast lap with empty fuel tank. Jean Alesi made the best out of it and could at least go for 10th while Johnny Herbert again was beaten by him and had to settle on 12th. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 28-Aug-1998	Today the free practice sessions for the GP of Belgium at Spa-Franchorchamps were held. Jean Alesi was 8th fastest during the free practice sessions and Johnny Herbert was 10th. ->GP Timetable
Sun, 16-Aug-1998	It was a difficult weekend for the Sauber Team. They had made some changes to the car but the handling was still not suitable. So again both drivers missed the points. Jean Alesi one time had a ride into the gravel when the car had severe understeering in a left hand corner. But he could return to the track and finished the race on 7th position. Johnny Herbert was 10th. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 15-Aug-1998	Both Sauber drivers had a hard time during the qualfiying session. So Jean Alesi was 11th fastest and Johnny Herbert only 15th. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 14-Aug-1998	Johnny Herbert was slightly faster than Jean Alesi resulting in a 11th position during the free practice sessions for the Hungarian GP. Jean Alesi was 13th fastest. ->GP Timetable
Sun, 02-Aug-1998	Johnny Herbert had really bad luck when he had to retire during the last third of the race due to an mechanical failure. Jean Alesi finished on 10th position. Again Sauber missed the points and lost their sixth position in the Constructors Championship to Jordan. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 01-Aug-1998	It was not a good qualifying session for the Sauber drivers. But compared to a other teams running with qualifying engines the result was alright. Jean Alesi was 11th fastest and Johnny Herbert qualiied on 12th position. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 31-Jul-1998	Both Sauber drivers were pretty fast during the free practice sessions on the high speed circuit of Hockenheim. Jean Alesi ended up 4th fastest and Johnny Herbert was 9th fastest. Nearly all Goodyear runners were within the top ten. Both McLaren drivers on their Bridgestone tyres were fastest. ->GP Timetable
Sun, 26-Jul-1998	After all that hard work the Sauber Team had a bitter harvest. Jean Alesi had been thrown out by Fisichella after Fisichella came out of the pits in the middle of the race. Alesi clearly was laying in front of him and the corner belonged to him but Fisichella decided to try to overtake him despite the fact that his car was heavier with more fuel after the pitstop than Alesi's and his tyres were cold. What a shame. Both had to retire. Alesi was on 4th position. Johnny Herbert finished the race on 8th position. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 25-Jul-1998	What a crazy qualifying session: Due to heavy rain no one was on the track during the first half hour of the session. When the rain was lighter all drivers came out with wet tyres. Towards the end of the session the track was drying up slowly and a lot of drivers decided to go out on intermediates. Jean Alesi made the best out of it and could secure a stunning second position on the grid behind Fisichella who snatched the pole away from Alesi. Johnny Herbert showed fair play and let Alesi pass on his fastest lap. He sacrificed his own fastest lap and only could get 18th position. Second position is the best qualifiying position the Sauber Team ever had. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 24-Jul-1998	Good performance by Johnny Herbert. In the last lap of the second free practice session for the Austrian GP he drove the fourth fastest lap of the day on used tyres. Jean Alesi was 10th fastest. On Wednesday Sauber Petronas Engineering the engine division of Red Bull Sauber Petronas announced the new agreement with Ferrari to get the 047-type engine currently used by Ferrari in 1999. The Ferrari 047-type engine is estimated as one of the strongest engines besides the Mercedes engine. ->GP Timetable
Sun, 12-Jul-1998	Alesi made an impressive start with his Sauber on the wet track. He could gain 4 positions and came out of lap 1 on 4th position. Most of the drivers had started on intermediate tyres. Johnny Herbert had a normal start and laid on 8th position after Irvine had been sleeping during the start. But soon Irvine could overtake him. Alesi drove a fantastic race laying most of the time on 4th position. Herbert made a mistake and spun off into the gravel bed. There the marshals pushed him out. His engine was still running but due to the regulations he had to drive into the pits and had to end his race there. But this was not the only thing that happened to the Sauber-Crew. Alesi came into the pits on lap 53 laying on 4th position with 7 laps to go and had to retire due to a mechanical failure. The Sauber Team would have deserved the points for the fourth position because they had worked really hard. But again it was just bad luck. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 11-Jul-1998	In the qualifying session both Jean Alesi and Johnny Herbert could improve compared to other teams and qualified on 8th and 9th. Jean Alesi again beat Johnny Herbert but only by about 0.003 seconds ->GP Timetable
Fri, 10-Jul-1998	Both Sauber drivers missed the top ten during the free practice sessions for the Silverstone GP. Johnny Herbert was 11th fastest and Jean Alesi was 12th. Johnny Herbert spoke about leaving Sauber at the end of this year. The package is good at Sauber and he thinks the Team will perform good in the future but he needs a more competitive package. ->GP Timetable
Sun, 28-Jun-1998	Despite a good effort from both drivers the Sauber Team again missed the points. Jean Alesi was 7th after beeing 5th for a while and Johnny Herbert gained 8th rank after Frentzen had to retire. The car had another behaviour with the new Goodyear tyre compound than during the tests last week. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 27-Jun-1998	In the qualifying session Jean Alesi beat Johnny Herbert by 0.2 seconds but managed to get 11th position on the grid while Herbert was 13th only. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 26-Jun-1998	After promising test results here at Magny-Cours last week both Sauber drivers could not improve like some other teams. So Johnny Herbert was 10th fastest and Jean Alesi was 12th fastest in the free practice sessions. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 19-Jun-1998	The Sauber Team conducted tests at Magny-Cours all the week. On Wednesday Jean Alesi surprisingly was fastest out of 17 drivers testing here too. He reported he had been running low on fuel. Sauber testdriver Jörg Müller was quite fast too given the fact that he knows the car not as good as Alesi or Herbert. The Sauber Team brought two cars to Magny-Cours. One of them with a longer wheelbase. ->Test-times
Sun, 07-Jun-1998	What a desaster for the Sauber Team: After the first start in a desastrous GP both cars were taken out by enemy contact. First Alexander Wurz, the flying Austrian, eliminated both Jean Alesi and Johnny Herbert. Alesi returned to the pits and could join the restart with the spare car which was set up for him. The Team then realized that Alesi's racecar was not as serious damaged and repaired the car for Herbert. At the restart Johnny Herbert had to join the race out of the pits. In the first corner a wild spinning Ralf Schumacher caused a massacre and Mika Salo went through the gravel trap pushing Trulli's Prost on Alesi's Sauber. The Prost was stuck on the upper side of the Sauber and starting to smoke. Alesi had to retire. Johnny Herbert did not get far too. After a spin he got stuck in the gravel trap at the Casino corner. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 06-Jun-1998	The qualifying session was held under cool conditions. All drivers were not content with the grip level of their tyres at these cool weather conditions. Jean Alesi managed to qualify for 9th position and Johnny Herbert on 12th. Surprisingly Jordan seems to match Sauber. Their cars qualified the first time in front of the Sauber cars since some races. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 05-Jun-1998	Jean Alesi was the surprising driver of the day. He was third fastest in the free practice sessions for the Canadian GP. Sauber seems to get a performance boost with the new Goodyear tyres. Johnny Herbert was timed as 11th fastest driver. ->GP Timetable
Sun, 24-May-1998	A clearly frustrated Jean Alesi fell on his knees after he had to leave his car in lap 72 due to an engine problem. He had been on position 5. Alesi had a good start and overtook his team mate Johnny Herbert. He planned two pitstops and after his second he was behind Mika Salo and on 5th position. But then their was some smoke coming from the rear end of the car and he had to retire. Johnny Herbert fell back on position 11 after the start and ended the race on position 7. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 23-May-1998	After the free practice sessions it was clear to see that the Bridgestone drivers had a good advantage over the Goodyear drivers. So the 9th and 11th position on starting grid reached by Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi during the qualifying should not to be underestimated. On this track where the driver skills count more than the car both drivers proved to be fast. ->GP Timetable
Thu, 23-May-1998	Traditionally the first two practice sessions for the Grand Prix at Monaco were held on Thursday. On a mainly dry track Johnny Herbert was 7th fastest. Team mate Jean Alesi was 12th fastest. ->GP Timetable
Sun, 10-May-1998	After a slow start in which he was overtaken by Villeneuve Johnny Herbert had a relatively good race. His car's exhaust was torn but it seemed not to bother him and he had a good fight with Villeneuve for position 6. Herbert had chosen the softer tyre compound and it seemed as it was as durable as the harder compound Villeneuve had chosen. Johnny Herbert attacked Villeneuve several times but could not pass him so in the end he had to be content with position 7. Team mate Jean Alesi had an incident with Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the first lap forcing Frentzen into a spin but could continue the race. The last third of the race Alesi laid in front of Ralf Schumacher and fought for 9th position. Both were passed by Frentzen in lap 63 so Alesi finished on rank 10. No points for Sauber at this weekend but still a quite good performance. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 09-May-1998	Good effort from Johnny Herbert: he qualified on 7th position on the grid and was third fastest of the Goodyear runners. Jean Alesi had some trouble and qualified on 14th position. But just 0.5 seconds slower than Herbert. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 08-May-1998	Johnny Herbert was third fastest on Friday during the free practice sessions for the GP of Spain. Both McLaren drivers topped the timetable. Jean Alesi was ninth fastest and 1 second slower than his team mate. ->GP Timetable
Thu, 30-Apr-1998	Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi continued with their test program. Herbert was 8th fastest and faster than Villeneuve, Alesi was 12th fastest. Due to a problem with the car he could complete 5 laps only. Fastest of the test session was Alexander Wurz in his Benetton. ->Test-times
Wed, 29-Apr-1998	Today there were 19 drivers testing at the Barcelona circuit. Once more both McLaren drivers were fastest. Jean Alesi improved his laptime he set yesterday and was fifth fastest. Johnny Herbert could complete 10 laps only and was 16th fastest beaten by Sauber testdriver Jörg Müller who drove 45 laps and who was slightly faster than Herbert. The Sauber Team concentrated on improving the car's aerodynamics and on tyre testing. ->Test-times
Tue, 28-Apr-1998	The race before the race at Spain: Eight teams met on Barcelona track to test their cars before the race there next week. Both McLaren drivers set the pace. Jean Alesi testing for the Sauber Team there was seventh fastest. All cars equipped with Bridgestone tyres were faster than these running on Goodyear tyres. ->Test-times
Sun, 26-Apr-1998	Again Johnny Herbert had a black Sunday when he suffered from a suspension damage of his car in lap 12 of the race. Jean Alesi was more lucky and after having some fight with Heinz-Harald Frentzen for 5th position he earned a championship point when finishing the race on 6th position finally. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 25-Apr-1998	Both Sauber drivers experimented during the free practice sessions with the 'tower wings' and a new diffusor. In the qualifying session Johnny Herbert was slightly faster than his team mate and took the 11th position on tomorrow's starting grid. Jean Alesi was 12th fastest. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 24-Apr-1998	After the second free practice session for the Imola GP Johnny Herbert was 15th on the times list and Jean Alesi was 11th. Max Mosley, boss of the FIA, wants to forbid the 'tower wings' as Sauber and other teams use them. He sais they would not look good in the TV broadcasting. As this is a change in the regulations all teams have to agree with that change first. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 17-Apr-1998	On the second day of testing Johnny Herbert was as fast as Olovier Panis from the PRost Team on a wet track. ->Test-times
Thu, 16-Apr-1998	The Sauber Team came to Magny-Cours to test the car there. Johnny Herbert drove just some laps due to a car problem. ->Test-times
Sun, 12-Apr-1998	A really bad weekend for Johnny Herbert: After a normal start he was on 12th position. But in the middle of the race he was rammed by Damon Hill from backwards and Herbert's left rear tyre was cut. He tried to make it back to the pits but he had to park the car at the side of the track. Team mate Jean Alesi had a really furious start and came ot of lap 1 on 7th position. During the race he went up to 5th position where he finished the race. During several laps he had a battle with Villeneuve in front of him and Coulthard behind him. Between his first and second pitstop Alesi's car lost the right one of the little extra wings. But the Sauber was competitive. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 11-Apr-1998	Again Johnny Herbert was not the luckiest guy when his car suffered gearbox electronics failure and he could not drive much during the free practice sessions. In the qualifying he was beaten by Jean Alesi who qualified on 11th position. Herbert took the 12th position. David Coulthard set the pole position time. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 10-Apr-1998	After some relaxing for the Sauber crew the beginning race weekend at Buenos Aires brought some work for the mechanics. On a partially wet track Jean Alesi slammed his car into his team mate Johnny Herbert's car. Both drivers were on their installation laps. Alesi was ashamed and said even not beginners would happen such things. It happened in the first chicane and Jean Alesi was not concentrated on his job he reported later. Another curiosity was the fact that the manufacturer of the felloes for Sauber - Speedline - could not provide wider rims for the new Goodyear front tyres. So the team has to use OZ-felloes on the front axis and Speedline-felloes at the rear axis. ->GP Timetable
Sun, 29-Mar-1998	There was a good start of the race after no one caused a mess in the first corner like in the last year. Both Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi had quite good starts from positions 14 and 15. They could gain some positions. But the race did not grant a finish in the top six as both Sauber drivers had hoped. Johnny Herbert even did not finish the race. He had to retire 5 laps before the end of the race and came to the pits. He had hurt his neck during a crash in the practice session on Saturday and was unable to continue the race. Alesi finished on 9th position after a race with some duels with Prost driver Olivier Panis. The race was won by Hakkinen in the McLaren. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 28-Mar-1998	The Saturday free practice sessions went better for Johnny Herbert. But not as good as it should have been for the Sauber Team. Jean Alesi was 13th fastest and Johnny Herbert was 14th fastest. Both Sauber cars were equipped with the extra wings in the middle of the car called «twin towers» to induce more downforce on the car. After the official protest from Ferrari, Sauber, Benetton, Minardi and Tyrrell the extra brake systems used by McLaren, Williams and Jordan were declared illegal by the race stewards because they were used as a four-wheel-steering device coupled with the steering wheel instead of being used as a brake. In the qualifying session both Sauber drivers could not improve and so Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi will start the race from positions 14 and 15. The advantage of the teams using Bridgestone tyres was clear to see. Even the two Prost drivers and one Stewart driver qualified better than both Sauber drivers. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 27-Mar-1998	During the Friday practice sessions of the Brasilian GP Johnny Herbert could drive only 5 laps due to an electrical failure in session 1 and a gearbox problema and a resulting spin in session 2. He lost a whole day of practising because it is not allowed to use the spare car during the free practice sessions. His team mate Jean Alesi was more lucky. He could complete both sessions without problems and ended up 9th on the timetable. McLaren, Williams and Jordan were not allowed to use their extra brake systems during the sessions but nevertheless both McLaren drivers dominated the sessions. ->GP Timetable
Sun, 08-Mar-1998	After the McLaren drivers have been so dominating all the weekend they earned what they deserved. It was a double triumph for Hakkinen and Coulthard in the GP at Melbourne. But Johnny Herbert crossed the finish line on 6th position after he started from 5th position and lost a rank to Fisichella after the start. Most of the time Herbert fought with Villeneuve in the Williams. The Sauber clearly had a advantage over the Williams at the corners but not as much power on the straights to overtake. But it was a well deserved finish for Herbert who was out on one stop strategy. His team mate Alesi did not have lucky time when his engine blew up in lap 42. He laid on 8th position. But nevertheless the Sauber Team gained the first point in the new season. ->GP Timetable
Sat, 07-Mar-1998	In the free practice sessions on Saturday all teams could work on their car setups finally. Laptimes were mostly 4 seconds faster than yesterday. Fastest was David Coulthard followed by Jacques Villeneuve. Johnny Herbert was 7th, Jean Alesi 9th. During the qualifying it was pretty cool and little bit cloudy. Mika Hakkinen got the pole position in front of Coulthart. The McLaren Team chose the softer Bridgstone tyre compound. In a good effort Johnny Herbert could qualify between Jacques Villeneuve on 4th position and Heinz-Harald Frentzen on 6th position. Jean Alesi had some trouble and qualified on 12th position just about 1 second slower than his teammate.Due to the low track-temperatures the teams with the softer tyre compound had a clear advantage. Herbert was very content with the overall performance of the Sauber C17 and with the aerodynamics package especially. Alesi was discontent with the balance of his car. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 06-Mar-1998	The first day of the new Formula One season was a little bit disturbing. After the 2nd practice session on Friday at Melbourne the laptimes were confusing. Due to changeable weather conditions no one can judge about the reached laptimes. Michael Schumacher set the fastest laptime. Second Hakkinen, third Villeneuve. Johnny Herbert was 7th fastest followed by Jean Alesi who was 8th. Due to some rain on the circuit these laptimes represent not the real situation of the teams. ->GP Timetable
Fri, 20-Feb-1998	Johnny Herbert ended the Sauber tests at Barcelona as fifth fastest. Jean Alesi was sixth fastest and just marginally slower than Herbert. The Sauber Team returned to Hinwil/Switzerland to prepare the shipping of the equipment on Monday with the official Formula One air freight to Melbourne. ->Test-times
Thu, 19-Feb-1998	Johnny Herbert was fourth fastest at Barcelona and within 1.4 seconds of Hakkinens fastest time. Alesi was somewhat slower and seventh fastest. ->Test-times
Wed, 18-Feb-1998	On Wednesday Herbert was faster than Alesi. Herbert was third fastest of all drivers but 2 seconds away from Hakkinen's time. ->Test-times
Tue, 17-Feb-1998	Today Jean Alesi was second fastest at Barcelona but 1.7 seconds away from Coulthart's fastest time. Johnny Herbert was fourth fastest. ->Test-times
Mon, 16-Feb-1998	The Sauber Team returned to Barcelona for further tests. Johnny Herbert was second fastest behind David Coulthart in the McLaren who was 3 seconds faster. Jean Alesi was fifth fastest. ->Test-times
Wed, 04-Feb-1998	Under wet conditions Johnny Herbert went out on the track on rain tyres. He was fifth fastest of the day and second fastest of the drivers having Goodyear tyres. Fisichella was fastest and even faster with his 1998 Benetton than both McLaren drivers in their 1997 car. ->Test-times
Tue, 03-Feb-1998	Johnny Herbert had his first test run in Barcelona. He continued were Alesi had started and was second behind Villeneuve. Again the McLaren set the fastest laps but they had the 1997 cars as the new McLaren car isn't out yet. The Sauber C17 seems not to be a bad car. ->Test-times
Mon, 02-Feb-1998	Again Villeneuve was fastest in the new Williams FW20 followed by Jean Alesi in the Sauber. He was even faster than the Benetton drivers although they do testing since several weeks. Due to a spin Alesi could drive 21 laps only. ->Test-times
Sun, 01-Feb-1998	Today Jean Alesi had his first test in the new Sauber C17 at Barcelona. Some teams are here for the whole week to do some serious testing. Both McLaren drivers were fastest but they had the 1997 car running with 1998 tyres. Villeneuve was fastest of all drivers in the 1998 cars. Jean Alesi was second fastest. ->Test-times
Wed, 28-Jan-1998	Johnny Herbert was impressed by the Sauber C17's initial runs at Ferrari's hometrack Fiorano at Maranello last week. Even though some teething problems restricted his progress to just a few laps on Sunday and Monday morning, he said that it is too early to make any judgements, but that it is promising. Herbert said that the first impressions of the chassis are nice and that they already came within about a second of Nicola Larini's time after two days in the new Ferrari. Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi will begin serious running of the C17 in Barcelona's major Formula One test next week. ->Test-times
Wed, 21-Jan-1998	The Sauber Team presented the new C17 car at the team presentation in Vienna/Austria. Team principal Peter Sauber said, the car was built based upon the knowledge the Team gained during the last five years of competing in Formula One. The car was completely new constructed. The Petronas V10 engine was improved by engineer Osamu Goto to get more torque and power. It is possible to run it with higher cooling system temperatures. All is looking promising for the new season. The Team has a very experienced driver combination with Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi. With Jörg Müller the team has a fast testdriver.

Sun, 01-Nov-1998

The Sauber drivers started from position 11 and 12 into the Japanese GP. The first time since a number of races Johnny Herbert had outqualified his teammate Jean Alesi. There were some battles for positions. In the end Jean Alesi was seventh and Johnny Herbert 10th. Mika Hakkinen claimed his first Formula One title on Sunday after rival Michael Schumacher was forced out the Japanese Grand Prix when the right rear tyre exploded on his Ferrari. The Sauber Team ended the season with the 6th position in the Constructors Championship with 10 points. Next year they will get this years Ferrari engine and the new driver Pedro Diniz, who replaces Johnny Herbert, is not as bad as some people say. This year he was sometimes better than his high estimated teammate Mika Salo at Arrows. ->GP Timetable

Sun, 27-Sep-1998

It was a good race start without the mess in the first corner as last year. But then Johnny Herbert had to retire in lap 37 and Jean Alesi was struggling with his Goodyear tyres getting worse just as the other Goodyear drivers did. In the end he had to settle on 10th position. All the weekend Sauber did not find the right car setup for the tyres. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 26-Sep-1998

The Sauber Team did not find the appropriate setup for the new Goodyear tyres for the qualifying session and this left Jean Alesi on the 11th position on the starting grid and Johnny Herbert on 13th. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 25-Sep-1998

Johnny Herbert was 17th fastest of the free practice sessions for the Grand Prix of Luxembourg at the Nürburgring track. Jean Alesi was 14th fastest. ->GP Timetable

Sun, 13-Sep-1998

Johnny Herbert had a difficult race at riday's Italian Grand Prix and eventually spun out because of a pair of pliers, which got caught up in the pedals. «It's just stupid,» said Herbert afterwards. «I had a pair of pliers bouncing around inside the cockpit,» said Herbert. Herbert who will join Stewart next season also said, «It is not very clever when the mechanics leave things in the car.» Jean Alesi performed well and secured 2 championship points for 5th position. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 12-Sep-1998

In the qualifying session a long time no car showed up on the track. In the closing stages of the session all 22 cars were on the track. Jean Alesi was out on the track early and held the pole position for a long time. But in the end he had to settle for 8th position. The times were close together. Johnny Herbert did not found a free lap and qualified far back at 15th position. After a excursion into the gravel trap he could recover the car but could not improve on his laptime. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 11-Sep-1998

The free practice sessions for the GP of Italy at Monza were held first under dry conditions. Later on the rain started. Due to electrical problems on his car Jean Alesi could not drive a single timed lap. Johnny Herbert drove the 12th fastest lap. On Tuesday it was known that Johnny Herbert will leave the Sauber Team at the end of this season. He will move to the Stewart Team where he signed a two-year-contract. This and Heinz-Harald Frentzen's move to the Jordan Team leaves the question about the second cockpit for the Sauber Team. A most likely candidate would be the current test driver Jörg Müller from Germany. He is fast and the engineers like his technical brains. He proved to be a winning driver when he won the European Formula 3000 Championship in 1996. Another possibility would be F3000 shooting star Nick Heidfeld from Germany too. Jean Alesi prolongued his contract already in July. ->GP Timetable

Sun, 30-Aug-1998

What a race! What a mess! It started with a collision between 13 cars initiated presumably by Eddie Irvine who touched Coulthard's McLaren. After Coulthard's resulting spin all following cars crashed into each other. Johnny Herbert was in the center of this chaos. He just wanted to escape but there ware so much cars crashing around him and debris flying through the air that he became a victim. At his rainy conditions no one could see anything. After nearly one hour the restart was better but leaving Mika Hakkinen who tangled with Michael Schumacher's Ferrari in a destroyed McLaren. Unfortunately Johnny Herbert again was involved when he could not avoid crashing into the spun McLaren of Hakkinen. After a safety car phase another start was initiated. Jean Alesi fought with Heinz-Harald Frentzen for 4th position. After Michael Schumacher crashed his Ferrari into Coulthard's McLaren there was another safety car phase. Another restart was made with Damon Hill leading. Jean Alesi was keen on a better position and made ground on both leading Jordan drivers Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher. He put pressure on Ralf Schumacher until the end but then had to settle on 3rd position. But a respactable result for the Sauber Team in a crazy Grand Prix given the fact that Herbert coul not participate anymore after the second incident. The Jordan-Team celebrated its first GP victory with Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher in a one-two-row. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 29-Aug-1998

For Sauber there is always a difference between on one hand performance in practice sessions and races and on the other hand the qualifying sessions. The car can not be fully setup for the single fast lap with empty fuel tank. Jean Alesi made the best out of it and could at least go for 10th while Johnny Herbert again was beaten by him and had to settle on 12th. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 28-Aug-1998

Today the free practice sessions for the GP of Belgium at Spa-Franchorchamps were held. Jean Alesi was 8th fastest during the free practice sessions and Johnny Herbert was 10th. ->GP Timetable

Sun, 16-Aug-1998

It was a difficult weekend for the Sauber Team. They had made some changes to the car but the handling was still not suitable. So again both drivers missed the points. Jean Alesi one time had a ride into the gravel when the car had severe understeering in a left hand corner. But he could return to the track and finished the race on 7th position. Johnny Herbert was 10th. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 15-Aug-1998

Both Sauber drivers had a hard time during the qualfiying session. So Jean Alesi was 11th fastest and Johnny Herbert only 15th. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 14-Aug-1998

Johnny Herbert was slightly faster than Jean Alesi resulting in a 11th position during the free practice sessions for the Hungarian GP. Jean Alesi was 13th fastest. ->GP Timetable

Sun, 02-Aug-1998

Johnny Herbert had really bad luck when he had to retire during the last third of the race due to an mechanical failure. Jean Alesi finished on 10th position. Again Sauber missed the points and lost their sixth position in the Constructors Championship to Jordan. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 01-Aug-1998

It was not a good qualifying session for the Sauber drivers. But compared to a other teams running with qualifying engines the result was alright. Jean Alesi was 11th fastest and Johnny Herbert qualiied on 12th position. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 31-Jul-1998

Both Sauber drivers were pretty fast during the free practice sessions on the high speed circuit of Hockenheim. Jean Alesi ended up 4th fastest and Johnny Herbert was 9th fastest. Nearly all Goodyear runners were within the top ten. Both McLaren drivers on their Bridgestone tyres were fastest. ->GP Timetable

Sun, 26-Jul-1998

After all that hard work the Sauber Team had a bitter harvest. Jean Alesi had been thrown out by Fisichella after Fisichella came out of the pits in the middle of the race. Alesi clearly was laying in front of him and the corner belonged to him but Fisichella decided to try to overtake him despite the fact that his car was heavier with more fuel after the pitstop than Alesi's and his tyres were cold. What a shame. Both had to retire. Alesi was on 4th position. Johnny Herbert finished the race on 8th position. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 25-Jul-1998

What a crazy qualifying session: Due to heavy rain no one was on the track during the first half hour of the session. When the rain was lighter all drivers came out with wet tyres. Towards the end of the session the track was drying up slowly and a lot of drivers decided to go out on intermediates. Jean Alesi made the best out of it and could secure a stunning second position on the grid behind Fisichella who snatched the pole away from Alesi. Johnny Herbert showed fair play and let Alesi pass on his fastest lap. He sacrificed his own fastest lap and only could get 18th position. Second position is the best qualifiying position the Sauber Team ever had. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 24-Jul-1998

Good performance by Johnny Herbert. In the last lap of the second free practice session for the Austrian GP he drove the fourth fastest lap of the day on used tyres. Jean Alesi was 10th fastest. On Wednesday Sauber Petronas Engineering the engine division of Red Bull Sauber Petronas announced the new agreement with Ferrari to get the 047-type engine currently used by Ferrari in 1999. The Ferrari 047-type engine is estimated as one of the strongest engines besides the Mercedes engine. ->GP Timetable

Sun, 12-Jul-1998

Alesi made an impressive start with his Sauber on the wet track. He could gain 4 positions and came out of lap 1 on 4th position. Most of the drivers had started on intermediate tyres. Johnny Herbert had a normal start and laid on 8th position after Irvine had been sleeping during the start. But soon Irvine could overtake him. Alesi drove a fantastic race laying most of the time on 4th position. Herbert made a mistake and spun off into the gravel bed. There the marshals pushed him out. His engine was still running but due to the regulations he had to drive into the pits and had to end his race there. But this was not the only thing that happened to the Sauber-Crew. Alesi came into the pits on lap 53 laying on 4th position with 7 laps to go and had to retire due to a mechanical failure. The Sauber Team would have deserved the points for the fourth position because they had worked really hard. But again it was just bad luck. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 11-Jul-1998

In the qualifying session both Jean Alesi and Johnny Herbert could improve compared to other teams and qualified on 8th and 9th. Jean Alesi again beat Johnny Herbert but only by about 0.003 seconds ->GP Timetable

Fri, 10-Jul-1998

Both Sauber drivers missed the top ten during the free practice sessions for the Silverstone GP. Johnny Herbert was 11th fastest and Jean Alesi was 12th. Johnny Herbert spoke about leaving Sauber at the end of this year. The package is good at Sauber and he thinks the Team will perform good in the future but he needs a more competitive package. ->GP Timetable

Sun, 28-Jun-1998

Despite a good effort from both drivers the Sauber Team again missed the points. Jean Alesi was 7th after beeing 5th for a while and Johnny Herbert gained 8th rank after Frentzen had to retire. The car had another behaviour with the new Goodyear tyre compound than during the tests last week. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 27-Jun-1998

In the qualifying session Jean Alesi beat Johnny Herbert by 0.2 seconds but managed to get 11th position on the grid while Herbert was 13th only. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 26-Jun-1998

After promising test results here at Magny-Cours last week both Sauber drivers could not improve like some other teams. So Johnny Herbert was 10th fastest and Jean Alesi was 12th fastest in the free practice sessions. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 19-Jun-1998

The Sauber Team conducted tests at Magny-Cours all the week. On Wednesday Jean Alesi surprisingly was fastest out of 17 drivers testing here too. He reported he had been running low on fuel. Sauber testdriver Jörg Müller was quite fast too given the fact that he knows the car not as good as Alesi or Herbert. The Sauber Team brought two cars to Magny-Cours. One of them with a longer wheelbase. ->Test-times

Sun, 07-Jun-1998

What a desaster for the Sauber Team: After the first start in a desastrous GP both cars were taken out by enemy contact. First Alexander Wurz, the flying Austrian, eliminated both Jean Alesi and Johnny Herbert. Alesi returned to the pits and could join the restart with the spare car which was set up for him. The Team then realized that Alesi's racecar was not as serious damaged and repaired the car for Herbert. At the restart Johnny Herbert had to join the race out of the pits. In the first corner a wild spinning Ralf Schumacher caused a massacre and Mika Salo went through the gravel trap pushing Trulli's Prost on Alesi's Sauber. The Prost was stuck on the upper side of the Sauber and starting to smoke. Alesi had to retire. Johnny Herbert did not get far too. After a spin he got stuck in the gravel trap at the Casino corner. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 06-Jun-1998

The qualifying session was held under cool conditions. All drivers were not content with the grip level of their tyres at these cool weather conditions. Jean Alesi managed to qualify for 9th position and Johnny Herbert on 12th. Surprisingly Jordan seems to match Sauber. Their cars qualified the first time in front of the Sauber cars since some races. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 05-Jun-1998

Jean Alesi was the surprising driver of the day. He was third fastest in the free practice sessions for the Canadian GP. Sauber seems to get a performance boost with the new Goodyear tyres. Johnny Herbert was timed as 11th fastest driver. ->GP Timetable

Sun, 24-May-1998

A clearly frustrated Jean Alesi fell on his knees after he had to leave his car in lap 72 due to an engine problem. He had been on position 5. Alesi had a good start and overtook his team mate Johnny Herbert. He planned two pitstops and after his second he was behind Mika Salo and on 5th position. But then their was some smoke coming from the rear end of the car and he had to retire. Johnny Herbert fell back on position 11 after the start and ended the race on position 7. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 23-May-1998

After the free practice sessions it was clear to see that the Bridgestone drivers had a good advantage over the Goodyear drivers. So the 9th and 11th position on starting grid reached by Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi during the qualifying should not to be underestimated. On this track where the driver skills count more than the car both drivers proved to be fast. ->GP Timetable

Thu, 23-May-1998

Traditionally the first two practice sessions for the Grand Prix at Monaco were held on Thursday. On a mainly dry track Johnny Herbert was 7th fastest. Team mate Jean Alesi was 12th fastest. ->GP Timetable

Sun, 10-May-1998

After a slow start in which he was overtaken by Villeneuve Johnny Herbert had a relatively good race. His car's exhaust was torn but it seemed not to bother him and he had a good fight with Villeneuve for position 6. Herbert had chosen the softer tyre compound and it seemed as it was as durable as the harder compound Villeneuve had chosen. Johnny Herbert attacked Villeneuve several times but could not pass him so in the end he had to be content with position 7. Team mate Jean Alesi had an incident with Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the first lap forcing Frentzen into a spin but could continue the race. The last third of the race Alesi laid in front of Ralf Schumacher and fought for 9th position. Both were passed by Frentzen in lap 63 so Alesi finished on rank 10. No points for Sauber at this weekend but still a quite good performance. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 09-May-1998

Good effort from Johnny Herbert: he qualified on 7th position on the grid and was third fastest of the Goodyear runners. Jean Alesi had some trouble and qualified on 14th position. But just 0.5 seconds slower than Herbert. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 08-May-1998

Johnny Herbert was third fastest on Friday during the free practice sessions for the GP of Spain. Both McLaren drivers topped the timetable. Jean Alesi was ninth fastest and 1 second slower than his team mate. ->GP Timetable

Thu, 30-Apr-1998

Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi continued with their test program. Herbert was 8th fastest and faster than Villeneuve, Alesi was 12th fastest. Due to a problem with the car he could complete 5 laps only. Fastest of the test session was Alexander Wurz in his Benetton. ->Test-times

Wed, 29-Apr-1998

Today there were 19 drivers testing at the Barcelona circuit. Once more both McLaren drivers were fastest. Jean Alesi improved his laptime he set yesterday and was fifth fastest. Johnny Herbert could complete 10 laps only and was 16th fastest beaten by Sauber testdriver Jörg Müller who drove 45 laps and who was slightly faster than Herbert. The Sauber Team concentrated on improving the car's aerodynamics and on tyre testing. ->Test-times

Tue, 28-Apr-1998

The race before the race at Spain: Eight teams met on Barcelona track to test their cars before the race there next week. Both McLaren drivers set the pace. Jean Alesi testing for the Sauber Team there was seventh fastest. All cars equipped with Bridgestone tyres were faster than these running on Goodyear tyres. ->Test-times

Sun, 26-Apr-1998

Again Johnny Herbert had a black Sunday when he suffered from a suspension damage of his car in lap 12 of the race. Jean Alesi was more lucky and after having some fight with Heinz-Harald Frentzen for 5th position he earned a championship point when finishing the race on 6th position finally. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 25-Apr-1998

Both Sauber drivers experimented during the free practice sessions with the 'tower wings' and a new diffusor. In the qualifying session Johnny Herbert was slightly faster than his team mate and took the 11th position on tomorrow's starting grid. Jean Alesi was 12th fastest. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 24-Apr-1998

After the second free practice session for the Imola GP Johnny Herbert was 15th on the times list and Jean Alesi was 11th. Max Mosley, boss of the FIA, wants to forbid the 'tower wings' as Sauber and other teams use them. He sais they would not look good in the TV broadcasting. As this is a change in the regulations all teams have to agree with that change first. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 17-Apr-1998

On the second day of testing Johnny Herbert was as fast as Olovier Panis from the PRost Team on a wet track. ->Test-times

Thu, 16-Apr-1998

The Sauber Team came to Magny-Cours to test the car there. Johnny Herbert drove just some laps due to a car problem. ->Test-times

Sun, 12-Apr-1998

A really bad weekend for Johnny Herbert: After a normal start he was on 12th position. But in the middle of the race he was rammed by Damon Hill from backwards and Herbert's left rear tyre was cut. He tried to make it back to the pits but he had to park the car at the side of the track. Team mate Jean Alesi had a really furious start and came ot of lap 1 on 7th position. During the race he went up to 5th position where he finished the race. During several laps he had a battle with Villeneuve in front of him and Coulthard behind him. Between his first and second pitstop Alesi's car lost the right one of the little extra wings. But the Sauber was competitive. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 11-Apr-1998

Again Johnny Herbert was not the luckiest guy when his car suffered gearbox electronics failure and he could not drive much during the free practice sessions. In the qualifying he was beaten by Jean Alesi who qualified on 11th position. Herbert took the 12th position. David Coulthard set the pole position time. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 10-Apr-1998

After some relaxing for the Sauber crew the beginning race weekend at Buenos Aires brought some work for the mechanics. On a partially wet track Jean Alesi slammed his car into his team mate Johnny Herbert's car. Both drivers were on their installation laps. Alesi was ashamed and said even not beginners would happen such things. It happened in the first chicane and Jean Alesi was not concentrated on his job he reported later. Another curiosity was the fact that the manufacturer of the felloes for Sauber - Speedline - could not provide wider rims for the new Goodyear front tyres. So the team has to use OZ-felloes on the front axis and Speedline-felloes at the rear axis. ->GP Timetable

Sun, 29-Mar-1998

There was a good start of the race after no one caused a mess in the first corner like in the last year. Both Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi had quite good starts from positions 14 and 15. They could gain some positions. But the race did not grant a finish in the top six as both Sauber drivers had hoped. Johnny Herbert even did not finish the race. He had to retire 5 laps before the end of the race and came to the pits. He had hurt his neck during a crash in the practice session on Saturday and was unable to continue the race. Alesi finished on 9th position after a race with some duels with Prost driver Olivier Panis. The race was won by Hakkinen in the McLaren. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 28-Mar-1998

The Saturday free practice sessions went better for Johnny Herbert. But not as good as it should have been for the Sauber Team. Jean Alesi was 13th fastest and Johnny Herbert was 14th fastest. Both Sauber cars were equipped with the extra wings in the middle of the car called «twin towers» to induce more downforce on the car. After the official protest from Ferrari, Sauber, Benetton, Minardi and Tyrrell the extra brake systems used by McLaren, Williams and Jordan were declared illegal by the race stewards because they were used as a four-wheel-steering device coupled with the steering wheel instead of being used as a brake. In the qualifying session both Sauber drivers could not improve and so Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi will start the race from positions 14 and 15. The advantage of the teams using Bridgestone tyres was clear to see. Even the two Prost drivers and one Stewart driver qualified better than both Sauber drivers. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 27-Mar-1998

During the Friday practice sessions of the Brasilian GP Johnny Herbert could drive only 5 laps due to an electrical failure in session 1 and a gearbox problema and a resulting spin in session 2. He lost a whole day of practising because it is not allowed to use the spare car during the free practice sessions. His team mate Jean Alesi was more lucky. He could complete both sessions without problems and ended up 9th on the timetable. McLaren, Williams and Jordan were not allowed to use their extra brake systems during the sessions but nevertheless both McLaren drivers dominated the sessions. ->GP Timetable

Sun, 08-Mar-1998

After the McLaren drivers have been so dominating all the weekend they earned what they deserved. It was a double triumph for Hakkinen and Coulthard in the GP at Melbourne. But Johnny Herbert crossed the finish line on 6th position after he started from 5th position and lost a rank to Fisichella after the start. Most of the time Herbert fought with Villeneuve in the Williams. The Sauber clearly had a advantage over the Williams at the corners but not as much power on the straights to overtake. But it was a well deserved finish for Herbert who was out on one stop strategy. His team mate Alesi did not have lucky time when his engine blew up in lap 42. He laid on 8th position. But nevertheless the Sauber Team gained the first point in the new season. ->GP Timetable

Sat, 07-Mar-1998

In the free practice sessions on Saturday all teams could work on their car setups finally. Laptimes were mostly 4 seconds faster than yesterday. Fastest was David Coulthard followed by Jacques Villeneuve. Johnny Herbert was 7th, Jean Alesi 9th. During the qualifying it was pretty cool and little bit cloudy. Mika Hakkinen got the pole position in front of Coulthart. The McLaren Team chose the softer Bridgstone tyre compound. In a good effort Johnny Herbert could qualify between Jacques Villeneuve on 4th position and Heinz-Harald Frentzen on 6th position. Jean Alesi had some trouble and qualified on 12th position just about 1 second slower than his teammate.Due to the low track-temperatures the teams with the softer tyre compound had a clear advantage. Herbert was very content with the overall performance of the Sauber C17 and with the aerodynamics package especially. Alesi was discontent with the balance of his car. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 06-Mar-1998

The first day of the new Formula One season was a little bit disturbing. After the 2nd practice session on Friday at Melbourne the laptimes were confusing. Due to changeable weather conditions no one can judge about the reached laptimes. Michael Schumacher set the fastest laptime. Second Hakkinen, third Villeneuve. Johnny Herbert was 7th fastest followed by Jean Alesi who was 8th. Due to some rain on the circuit these laptimes represent not the real situation of the teams. ->GP Timetable

Fri, 20-Feb-1998

Johnny Herbert ended the Sauber tests at Barcelona as fifth fastest. Jean Alesi was sixth fastest and just marginally slower than Herbert. The Sauber Team returned to Hinwil/Switzerland to prepare the shipping of the equipment on Monday with the official Formula One air freight to Melbourne. ->Test-times

Thu, 19-Feb-1998

Johnny Herbert was fourth fastest at Barcelona and within 1.4 seconds of Hakkinens fastest time. Alesi was somewhat slower and seventh fastest. ->Test-times

Wed, 18-Feb-1998

On Wednesday Herbert was faster than Alesi. Herbert was third fastest of all drivers but 2 seconds away from Hakkinen's time. ->Test-times

Tue, 17-Feb-1998

Today Jean Alesi was second fastest at Barcelona but 1.7 seconds away from Coulthart's fastest time. Johnny Herbert was fourth fastest. ->Test-times

Mon, 16-Feb-1998

The Sauber Team returned to Barcelona for further tests. Johnny Herbert was second fastest behind David Coulthart in the McLaren who was 3 seconds faster. Jean Alesi was fifth fastest. ->Test-times

Wed, 04-Feb-1998

Under wet conditions Johnny Herbert went out on the track on rain tyres. He was fifth fastest of the day and second fastest of the drivers having Goodyear tyres. Fisichella was fastest and even faster with his 1998 Benetton than both McLaren drivers in their 1997 car. ->Test-times

Tue, 03-Feb-1998

Johnny Herbert had his first test run in Barcelona. He continued were Alesi had started and was second behind Villeneuve. Again the McLaren set the fastest laps but they had the 1997 cars as the new McLaren car isn't out yet. The Sauber C17 seems not to be a bad car. ->Test-times

Mon, 02-Feb-1998

Again Villeneuve was fastest in the new Williams FW20 followed by Jean Alesi in the Sauber. He was even faster than the Benetton drivers although they do testing since several weeks. Due to a spin Alesi could drive 21 laps only. ->Test-times

Sun, 01-Feb-1998

Today Jean Alesi had his first test in the new Sauber C17 at Barcelona. Some teams are here for the whole week to do some serious testing. Both McLaren drivers were fastest but they had the 1997 car running with 1998 tyres. Villeneuve was fastest of all drivers in the 1998 cars. Jean Alesi was second fastest. ->Test-times

Wed, 28-Jan-1998

Johnny Herbert was impressed by the Sauber C17's initial runs at Ferrari's hometrack Fiorano at Maranello last week. Even though some teething problems restricted his progress to just a few laps on Sunday and Monday morning, he said that it is too early to make any judgements, but that it is promising. Herbert said that the first impressions of the chassis are nice and that they already came within about a second of Nicola Larini's time after two days in the new Ferrari. Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi will begin serious running of the C17 in Barcelona's major Formula One test next week. ->Test-times

Wed, 21-Jan-1998

The Sauber Team presented the new C17 car at the team presentation in Vienna/Austria. Team principal Peter Sauber said, the car was built based upon the knowledge the Team gained during the last five years of competing in Formula One. The car was completely new constructed. The Petronas V10 engine was improved by engineer Osamu Goto to get more torque and power. It is possible to run it with higher cooling system temperatures. All is looking promising for the new season. The Team has a very experienced driver combination with Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi. With Jörg Müller the team has a fast testdriver.

Sauber Team NEWS 1998