Sauber will announce its drivers for 2013 before the end of the season

Even before the announcement of Sergio Pérez’s departure to McLaren in 2013, Monisha Kaltenborn, executive director of the Sauber F1 Team, indicated that there was no rush for Hinwil regarding the choice of drivers for the next season: « To be honest, there is no deadline. Naturally, there are a few key dates when it will be useful for the car’s development to know who the drivers will be, but I believe we are still far from that. »

When questioned by the agency Reuters, the executive director of the Sauber F1 Team assures today that a decision will be made this season. While for a long time, Sauber has served as a nursery for young drivers for Ferrari, with Felipe Massa and Sergio Pérez being the most notable examples, Monisha Kaltenborn nevertheless assures that this time it has nothing to do with Ferrari: I think we make our own decisions and we will make our own choices, discussing with whom we want to discuss. Then, it depends on the drivers.

Thus, after Felipe Massa stepped onto the podium, the BBC believes that Ferrari will renew the Brazilian’s contract for 2013 during the week and speculates that Nico Hülkenberg, the favorite to replace Massa for some days, might finally join the Swiss team in 2013. « Nico Hülkenberg is going to Sauber for at least two years, » also assures Roger Benoit, correspondent for the Swiss newspaper Blick, from Japan.

If Heikki Kovalainen, Sebastian Buemi, and Jaime Alguersuari are mentioned as potential future Sauber drivers, Kamui Kobayashi, long considered leaving, reminded everyone of his talent by reaching the podium in Suzuka. But that won’t influence Sauber’s decision: « Even if he hadn’t achieved a good result, we wouldn’t have said: “Now, that’s it. Since you can’t do it, you won’t be here next year! » explains Monisha Kaltenborn. « We are in a decision-making process, and we know him very well. We know his strengths very well, so we don’t need this kind of result [to judge him]. »

But by becoming the third Japanese driver to step onto the podium, the Sauber driver could attract sponsors who would undoubtedly secure his future with Hinwil: “I hope that with this kind of result there will be a renewed drive for [Japanese] companies to get involved. It’s very important for this race and for Formula One in Japan, because now they have a driver who has achieved such a performance,” says Kaltenborn, cryptically.