Sauber angry after Ferrari gearbox failures

Peter Sauber has admitted he is “angry” after both his cars retired with gearbox failures at Monza.

The units, like the Swiss team’s engines, are supplied by Ferrari.

“It was like going back to formula one’s stone age,” Sauber growled to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, referring to the fact that technical problems are today increasingly rare.

The magazine said Ferrari “has yet to analyse” the cause of the double failure, which caused both Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi to retire from the Italian grand prix.

Sauber said the defects cost the Hinwil based team points amid its close championship battle with Force India and Toro Rosso.

“For the second time this year like Australia we have given our opponents points in a big way,” he added.  “But we have to take it in a sporting way and go to full attack for the last six races.”

Beyond 2011, Sauber is hoping to have a bigger budget to make better use of its facilities at Hinwil, once the headquarters of BMW’s works team.

“I think the infrastructure is excellent,” said the team’s 67-year-old owner and boss, “and, of course, with more money we can be faster.  In our case it is very easy.”

Sauber also admitted he wants to expand the team’s staff count beyond its current 280.

© RIF | GMM