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Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has said that Sauber will become a Ferrari junior team in light of the newly announced engine deal. In Hungary, Sauber confirmed that it had cancelled its deal to run with Honda engines in 2018 and instead announced a deal with Ferrari.
The deal will also see the Hinwil-based squad run with up-to-date power, as year-old power units are hampering its 2017 season. Giancarlo Minardi said that Haas retaining its current line-up in 2018 was a missed opportunity for Ferrari to push one of its junior drivers into Formula 1.
Charles Leclerc and Antonio Giovinazzi are both waiting in the sidelines, hoping for a racing seat in 2018 with their best opportunity coming with Sauber now that the deal surrounding engines has been announced. Speaking in Hungary, Marchionne said that Sauber would now form into a junior team for its drivers.
"The engines for Sauber are also a way to create a kind of junior team for our young drivers. We have two great young talents, but to secure the future of Ferrari, we need the chance to train them somewhere. We need space for them, so it's a great idea and we're working on it. Maurizio Arrivabene has worked hard on this project, and I want to say also that in agreement with Liberty Media we will also increase the number of customers for our engines.
"They tell me Giovinazzi did a great job for us, driving here (for Haas) on Friday and then on Friday night returning to be in the simulator," continued Marchionne. "He worked late to make sure there was no mistake in balancing the car. He's back here (in Hungary) with us now and I see that quite rightly he is tired."
Fergal Walsh
Grand Prix of Belgium
G. Zhou
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Replies (5)
Login to replyOrchide
Posts: 82
I don't belive that for a second. Why would Longbow put in all that money to become a junior Ferrari team.
Their youngsters could perhaps do their testing. Fred just said that he decides who will have their seats.
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
Well, he is saying "kind of a junior team". To me that is pretty clear that it is not a junior team, but perhaps it's him testing the waters a little bit, or maybe even trying to put pressure on Sauber.
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
Cant see Ericsson leaving, but Wehrlein is in danger from Giovinazzi or Leclerc
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Same.
talktohenry
Posts: 362
Only a matter of time before Longbow loose interest..........when they realise how hard it is.....