A new era of the Sauber team was born, leading to its new name – Stake F1 Team – for the 2024 season. “This partnership will help us attract new audiences and increase our fan base but also have a new and innovative approach in terms of communication,” announced team principal Alunni Bravi.
The C44 will be the car Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou take to the track in the pre-season tests starting February 21st in Bahrain. Technically, the one presented just now is a very different car from the previous one. It has been updated under the supervision of the new technical director, James Key. Of course, the baseline for this year’s car began prior to his arrival.
Sauber C44: there is the pull-rod front suspension and the triangular roll hoop
“The C44 is a completely new car, with the crossover carried out only on some components of the rear,” Key said.
The Swiss team wanted to make some “ambitious” choices, as their technical director defined them. Most notably, there has been a transition to the pull-rod suspension scheme at the front. This is a choice that AlphaTauri also made, aligning itself with Red Bull and McLaren.
“The front suspension is completely new, a difficult and ambitious project for a team of our size,” Key continued.
This is an aerodynamic choice and not designed for purely mechanical reasons. This made it necessary to revisit the chassis, as for most teams this winter. The kinematics are very reminiscent of the front suspension of the Red Bull RB19, with a strong anti-dive (anti-sinking) effect, allowing the C44 to keep the aerodynamic platform as dynamically stable as possible. Gone, at least for now, is the cover mounted on the front of the Alfa Romeo C43 and the Mercedes W14.
Another interesting change concerns the roll hoop. For the 2024 F1 season, further changes have been made to the resistance requirements. These are in addition to those already included by the FIA last season in response to Zhou’s 2022 Silverstone accident.
For the 2024 frames, the roll hoop load test is much more severe to make them even more robust. These innovations have limited the ‘single pylon’ version used for purely weight reasons by the previous cars of the former Alfa Romeo team, with Sauber thus choosing to switch to a much more classic roll hoop similar to that of Ferrari.
Triangular in shape, the wider support base guarantees greater resistance, especially to lateral forces. The side ears remain, which bring fresh air to the radiators positioned above the Ferrari Power Unit, which will push the Swiss team until next season.
Sauber C44: a new concept that starts with important changes underneath the car
Another very evident innovation compared to last year’s car is the tray in the lower part of the cooling mouth, located at the beginning of the bellies. This solution is from the Red Bull RB19, which has set a precedent for many teams. At the rear, the main self-produced transmission casing remains. Meanwhile, the one containing the ratios is purchased from Ferrari, together with the gears and everything else.
Sauber expects a car that will perform better than the C43, which is logical given the winter changes. How good will it be?
“It depends on how much the other teams have improved,” said the English technical director. Such a response resembles that of many senior personnel at this stage of the year.
“However, we have clear ideas on how we want to approach the season, and we are working to arrive as prepared as possible on the track to better understand the car,” concluded James Key, confirming that the first developments on the C44 will arrive very soon,
The factory seems confident in this car’s potential. Now it must be proven on track.
Author: Piergiuseppe Donadoni
Translation: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
