Sauber\u2019s dramatic increase in performance in recent rounds is down to unexpected gains from a floor upgrade from Barcelona, according to sporting director Inaki Rueda.<\/p>\n
The team, which will become Audi\u2019s works entry next season, languished at the bottom of the constructors\u2019 championship standings heading into the Spanish Grand Prix in early June after taking a single points finish in the opening round in Australia.<\/p>\n
But over the following four rounds, Sauber have scored points in every grand prix, including a stunning podium finish for Nico Hulkenberg<\/a> in the last race at Silverstone. Their combined haul of 35 points over that span \u2013 six more than Red Bull \u2013 has seen them jump above Alpine, Haas, Aston Martin and Racing Bulls into sixth place in the championship.<\/p>\n Rueda says Sauber\u2019s improvement in performance has been made possible by an upgrade package which began with the revised floor introduced at the Circuit de Catalunya<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a three-step upgrade,\u201d Rueda explained to media including RaceFans. <\/p>\n \u201cWe got the floor in Barcelona and we scored points in Barcelona \u2013 that\u2019s not a coincidence. This floor is making our car much more drivable in the race \u2013 that was the goal.<\/p>\n \u201cFor Austria, we brought another different upgrade to that same floor, so basically it\u2019s a slightly different shape. And [at Silverstone] we had another step in that direction. So all of these floor upgrades are trying to address the drivability in the race. We are finding ourselves in a more competitive situation than we were before Barcelona.\u201d<\/p>\n Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free<\/a><\/p>\n After introducing the new floor at the Spanish Grand Prix, Sauber discovered a way to extract more pace from their car by developing their new design further, Rueda says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were targeting to get a floor that gave us, as I say, more driveability \u2013 not more downforce per se,\u201d he said. \u201cSo the aero department came up with this design that has opened a different avenue of development. <\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t expect it. We expected to get a new floor for Barcelona, we didn\u2019t expect these successive evolutions. But this new avenue of development has opened these new changes.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are no elements that you can bolt on the floor. Basically the first floor has a shape, the second one has a slightly different shape, so you actually bond a different surface into it. It\u2019s still the other floor with a slightly different shape. And this third floor has another different curvature. They are not mutually exclusive, it\u2019s the same floor that is evolving.\u201d<\/p>\n With major technical regulations changes coming for when the team transitions into Audi in 2026, Rueda admits that Sauber will likely cease further development on their car\u2019s floor for this season.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we have already developed more than we thought we were going to, because this avenue opened up,\u201d he admitted. I don\u2019t think we will find any more avenues. <\/p>\n \u201cThere might be a bit of refinement on the same avenue, but there will not be any other big experimentation to do because now we\u2019re trading off with 2026 development.\u201d<\/p>\n Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free<\/a><\/p>\n