F1 | Sauber: new generation medium load rear wing

Sauber is a team with two souls: Alessandro Alunni Bravo tries to give an imprint to the Stake F1 Team that is competing in the 2024 world championship, while Andreas Seidl, in his role as CEO of Audi, has the task of building the structure that from 2026 will have the task of making the four rings debut in the Circus as a new great manufacturer.

The operation is proving to be more complicated than expected because the attraction of an official brand like the German one, successful in every sporting field in which it has appeared (World Rally Championship, SuperTurismo, DTM, Gran Turismo, Endurance and Dakar), has not the world of F1 has been fascinated so far, where numerous offers have been declined, despite attractive economic proposals.

At this moment Sauber is also the only team left with zero points in the Constructors’ World Championship with a single-seater, the C44, which certainly did not inspire enthusiasm. The car had been approved before technical director James Key arrived in Hinwil from McLaren (strongly wanted by Andreas Seidl): but even the “care” of the developments brought by the Englishman did not change the performance of the Swiss team.

Having solved the problem of pit stops, Sauber has launched a massive plan that includes a series of innovations at each GP in the hope of getting back on top. Guanyu Zhou’s blows in particular in Monte Carlo and in the first free practice session in Canada do not make the task any easier, because the Chinese promptly eats into the spare parts reserves, making the evolution of the C44 more complicated.

In Montreal we saw the debut of the new medium load rear wing which follows the maximum load one that appeared in the Principality. Both are part of the generation of wings supported by the central mono-pylon. In addition to offering a very long chord main profile with a not very pronounced spoon shape, it stands out for the much less resistant mobile flap support, seeking greater efficiency in the flow that generates the wake. The mobile element is surmounted at the trailing edge by a striking full-width nolder.