Quest for New SAUBER Sponsor Continues

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By Jamie Makin
January 18 2005

When the SAUBER PETRONAS C24 was rolled out in Valencia, Spain Friday, the world was immediately drawn to its sleek looks and to the team's new driver lineup. Overlooked by most of the media was the fact that the engine cover remains empty, the Red Bull sponsorship not yet replaced.

But the team's fans are anxious to know what's happening. Message boards and chat rooms have been buzzing with the unanswered question of when we will see a new SAUBER and sponsor and who it will be. The reality is, we don't have any answers yet. But we do know a few things. For starters, the team is busy with negotiations for a new sponsor and hope to have something signed and sealed before the start of the 2005 season.

In the past few month the SAUBER team has become more attractive to potential sponsors. Their new wind tunnel and supercomputer "Albert" have given them the technical tools they need to build a more competitive car. The switch to Michelin tyres should yield immediate improvement in lap times as well. But the biggest gain for the team's image is the signing of 1997 World Champ Jacques Villeneuve. The French-Canadian is one of the sport's most popular drivers and his return has been eagerly awaited by the fans. All of these factors could translate into SAUBER's most successful season ever and is sure to attract the attention of bigger and better sponsors.

As for the issue of replacing the USD 20 million or so of funding that Red Bull took to their own team, there is little need to worry as SAUBER is on solid financial ground. We understand that the difference has already been made up by increased funding from Petronas, Credit Suisse and MTC. So any new sponsor SAUBER secures later this year will actually increase their budget and that can only be a good thing. As they say, "patience is a virtue". So the wait continues but you can be sure you'll hear about it here as soon as any announcements are made.

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