Sauber’s car will develop, but not its engine

Sauber has a development plan in place following a disappointing opening round, but a 2017 specification engine isn’t part of that.

Currently using 2016 Ferrari engines, Sauber finished without points in Australia. Marcus Ericsson failed to finish following a collision at the start of the race. Antonio Giovinazzi, making his F1 debut, finished two laps down in 13th.

After a difficult 2016 season, many didn’t have high expectations for the backmarker team, but team principal Monish Kaltenbourne told Autosport the team had been expecting a better start.

“We hoped we were a bit better, because we’ve been following some new concepts.

“Of course, others started [work on the 2017 rules] earlier, they have understood after the test where they need to do a few changes.

“We need to develop that now, and we have a development plan in place.

“We have pits and pieces coming [for the Chinese GP] and then we have an intense testing programme in Bahrain.

“We are planning a bigger package in Barcelona and then we’ll take it from there.”

A new engine isn’t part of that plan. At least, not for this year. Kaltenbourne admitted a 2017 Ferrari engine cannot physically fit into the current car.