A change of identity. A difficult transition between two prestigious brands. Alfa Romeo has left the scene, while Audi is expected to enter in 2026. The House of the Rings is already in the system, but prefers to remain under the radar. And then, Sauber transformed into Stake F1 Team. No more red colour, but a bright fluorescent green developed by BASF is added to the carbon black background, useful for saving paint and therefore weight.
There is no doubt that the Sauber C44 will stand out in the F1 lineup and will attract the lenses of photographers for this very aggressive livery which takes up the color of the gaming tables of Stake's online casinos. But it is also a green hope: Sauber has the ambition of abandoning ninth place in the 2023 Constructors' standings with just 16 points in its bag, to start moving towards mid-table positions.
In the context of the great transformation of the Hinwil team, the C44 represents a clear break with the past also from a technical point of view. James Key, technical director, arrived from McLaren when the project had already been started, so the English engineer does not take responsibility for the pull rod front suspension which represents one of the points of radical change, although he had introduced this solution on the single-seaters papaya, developing the concept so dear to Adrian Newey on Red Bull.
Just like Haas, the other customer team with the Ferrari power unit that has already shown its VF-24, the C44 denotes an increasingly clear resemblance to the Red Bull RB19 that won the world championship with Max Verstappen. It is no surprise that in the third year of the regulation of ground effect single-seaters there is a convergence towards the most high-performance solutions.
Sauber C44
Photo by: Sauber F1 Team
The wings are still from the C43
Let's discover in detail the characteristics of the new Sauber which was presented in London. For now, the nose is that of the C43: the nose rests on the first element of the wing which, too, is from the end of 2023 and does not adopt the more advanced concepts seen at the end of the season. The first element has a short chord, while the tendency is to see it widen towards the side bulkhead. We wouldn't be surprised if we see something different already on Friday's filming day in Barcelona. The same can be said for the rear wing which, for now, maintains the bi-plane support.
Sauber C44
Photo by: Sauber F1 Team
Pull rod front suspension
The front suspension switches to the pull rod scheme: the tie rod is pivoted almost to the floor of the body which is completely new. The internal kinematics have been brought lower for a more favorable center of gravity with the weights moved further down. The lower triangle is almost aligned with the steering arm for obvious aerodynamic reasons: the flow that is laminated under these elements is destined for the Venturi channels.
The front upper arm is almost cantilevered from the body at the top, while the rear one is decidedly inclined to favor the anti-squash effect during braking (the car should limit the sinking of the nose when braking, keeping the body at a more constant height , useful for not losing aerodynamic load).
Sauber C44
Photo by: Sauber F1 Team
Side with Red Bull-type slide
The belly is completely new: the mouth that feeds fresh air to the radiators is decidedly narrower and takes up the Red Bull concepts. The side is moved further back, but in front of the opening there is a very pronounced lower lip which invites the flow to descend towards the bottom with a very excavated undercut. The side, seen from the side, shows a sort of wing shape: it is sloping in the upper part with a slightly raised external edge and a lower profile that remains very detached from the bottom, giving the sensation that the radiator packs have been slightly raised, to ensure a flow passage without blockages. It is clear that the lower anti-intrusion cone has been embedded in the bottom, following fashion trends. The hot air vents are not seen above the belly, but you will see the opening of the gills in the flashy bazooka of the bonnet.
Sauber C44
Photo by: Sauber F1 Team
Triangular roll bar
Another very important change can be seen in the airbox of the C44: the central monolithic roll bar has disappeared. The solution was no longer able to withstand the new loads (almost 10 tonnes!) that the FIA ​​imposes in the homologation of the roll-hoop after the frightening failure seen in the 2022 British GP, when the Alfa Romeo rolled over of Guanyu Zhou, the roll bar tore off while plowing the asphalt at high speed.
Sauber C44
Photo by: Sauber
New Mercedes style airbox
Sauber has converted to a triangular-shaped roll-hoop and it is therefore not surprising that the air intake is very similar to the one already seen on the Haas. There is no longer the central airscope with two other more rearward intakes on the sides (it was a Sauber feature), but you can see two eye-catching Mercedes-style ears that we will probably also see on the SF-24.
It is reasonable to think, therefore, that the gearbox radiator has been placed above the Cavallino power unit, suggesting that the SF-24 will also replicate this solution, useful for having slimmer sides.
More efficient beam wing
The engine cover maintains a small dorsal fin towards the tail, while the shape of the bazooka is less square than other creations: the tendency is to improve the efficiency of the beam wing by trying to move the flow that laps the attack of the Halo towards the lower part of the rear axle.
Sauber C44
Photo by: Sauber F1 Team
Push rod rear suspension
The rear suspension remains push rod: in this case the internal mechanisms are at the top to have a narrow gearbox in the lower part and favor the design of a diffuser capable of generating more aerodynamic load. Sauber also follows the prevailing trend of losing something in the efficiency of the rear wing in favor of the downforce produced by the bottom (which alone is worth about 60% of the total).
In short, the C44 seems like a single-seater without visible ingenuity, but with a lot of rationality. The team leaders have assured that there will be something interesting to see that has been kept under wraps, but we will have to wait when there is a car with a configuration suitable for running on the track…
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