Jonathan Wheatley believes in the power of Sauber

Jonathan Wheatley noticed that the switch from Red Bull Racing to Sauber was significant. However, he is ultimately happy with the move and here's why.

"Obviously, it’s a question I’ve been asking myself before I joined the team and taking on the learnings from the first race. I have to say, I even arrived at that race a little bit later than I would have done normally. I didn’t really have time to immerse myself."

After languishing at the back of the grid in recent years, the former Red Bull chief is looking forward to seeing the team progresses, particularly during his early stint as the team's principal.

"I've kind of given myself a target of the first three races with the team: it’s a triple-header. It’s very, very interesting to see how a team performs over a triple-header: whether there’s accident damage, how you recover from that, fatigue. And you get a really good picture of how a team operates at the end of that period."

Sauber gleems with positivity

Despite the lowly results, the Hinwil-based team remains positive regarding its future. "I'm encouraged by the openness and the willingness to learn that I’ve experienced in the team so far. And the positive energy. This is a people business. And if you don’t have that creative energy, if you don’t have that drive, then you’re not going to keep moving forward.

"Which, of course, is our plan: to keep building on these little bits of momentum that we pick up, that you probably can’t even pick up on, because it’s not all about on-track performance."

Sauber is currently ninth in the constructors' standings, ahead of only Alpine, with Nico Hulkenberg scoring all 6 points the Swiss team have to their name. Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto is still waiting to take his first points for himself and for the team. During the second free practice, the rookie sensation finished in an impressive P13, whilst the German could only manage a P20.