By Carlo Platella
Sauber's development takes off in Suzuka. The Swiss team had already made some adjustments to the front wing during the trip to Australia, but it is in Japan that the first weight changes arrive from Hinwil. The C44 features a newly designed floor, abandoning the approach that had characterized previous ground-effect Alfa Romeos. Sauber's hope is that the use of more traditional forms will allow it to rise from the back of the grid.
The Suzuka fund
Until now, the Sauber/Alfa Romeo ground effect models had stood out from the competition due to a particular configuration of the flow diverters at the entrance to the lateral Venturi channels. In fact, the Hinwil single-seaters were the only ones to mount the vertical strips in a particularly rearward position, without protruding beyond the bottom. The technical department led by James Key now overturns this approach, opting for flow diverters that are less square than the previous version and above all longer.
From the front view you can also see how much the distribution of the lateral distances between the various strips has changed, denoting a different sorting of the flows channeled under the Venturi. It's about a real paradigm shift for Sauber, which by distorting the most advanced part of the bottom redesigns the entire flow field and the structure of vortices that run under the single-seater. In addition to the changes to the entrance to the Venturi channels, some new features also stand out in the upper portion of the bottom, in particular in the fairing of the lower structure protecting the passenger compartment.
The gap to fill
Seasonal development will be fundamental for Sauber's performance. In the first three qualifying sessions of the year, the C44 suffered an average lap delay of 1.6 seconds from Red Bull and 6 tenths from Racing Bulls, currently the leading force in the second half of the grid. The Suzuka fund shows that a major renovation of the car is underway in Hinwil, but there is still a long way to go.
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