 Kamui Kobayashi driving the C31 at the2012 Malaysian Grand Prix | |||||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Sauber | ||||||||||
| Designers | James Key(Technical Director) Matt Morris(Chief Designer)[1] Pierre Waché(Head of Vehicle Performance) Willem Toet(Head of Aerodynamics) Seamus Mullarkey(Head of Aerodynamic Research) Mariano Alperin(Head of Aerodynamic Development) | ||||||||||
| Predecessor | Sauber C30 | ||||||||||
| Successor | Sauber C32 | ||||||||||
| Technical specifications[2] | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Carbon-fibre monocoque | ||||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Upper and lower wishbones, inboard springs and dampers (SRE) actuated by pushrods | ||||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Upper and lower wishbones, inboard springs and dampers (SRE) actuated by pullrods | ||||||||||
| Engine | Ferrari 056 2,398 ccmmid-mounted | ||||||||||
| Transmission | Ferrari 7-speed Quick-shift carbon gearbox, longitudinally mounted, carbon-fibre clutch | ||||||||||
| Weight | 640 kg (incl. driver, tank empty) | ||||||||||
| Fuel | Shell V-Power ULG-66L/2 | ||||||||||
| Tyres | Pirelli P Zero (dry), Cinturato (wet)[3] | ||||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||||
| Notable entrants | Sauber F1 Team | ||||||||||
| Notable drivers | 14. Kamui Kobayashi[4]15.  Sergio Pérez[4] | ||||||||||
| Debut | 2012 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| Last event | 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
TheSauber C31[5] was aFormula Oneracing car designed bySauber for use in the2012 Formula One World Championship. The car was driven by JapaneseKamui Kobayashi and MexicanSergio Pérez, in their third and second seasons with the team respectively. Technical directorJames Key announced that he was leaving the team just four days before the C31 was due to be launched atJerez de la Frontera.[6]
The chassis was designed byJames Key,Matt Morris,Pierre Waché andWillem Toet with the car being powered with a customerFerrari engine.
The C31 achieved its first podium, with Pérez behind the wheel, at theMalaysian Grand Prix.
On June 10, Pérez achieved his second podium of the season at theCanadian Grand Prix with third place, while Kobayashi added a ninth place to help Sauber move up to sixth place in the Constructors' Championship.[7]
For theGerman Grand Prix the C31 achieved its best points haul of the season with Kobayashi coming in fifth position before a penalty pushed him up into fourth, with Pérez following him home in sixth, giving the team 20 points in one round. This was their best scoring round since returning to Formula One as a privateer team.[8]
At theBelgian GP Kobayashi started second and Pérez fourth (the best grid positions in Sauber's history). At the start of the race,Romain Grosjean caused a spectacular crash taking himself, Pérez, championship leaderFernando Alonso andLewis Hamilton out of action. Kobayashi's Sauber was also damaged in the incident which knocked him right down the field and he finished the race in 13th place.
TheItalian GP turned out to be a great weekend for the Sauber F1 team and they scored 20 points. Pérez scored second place (his third podium of the season), and Kobayashi ninth. Pérez had a strong race, overtaking drivers like Schumacher,Räikkönen,Rosberg,Massa and Alonso. The Sauber team had a great strategy with Pérez's car, starting on hard tyres and changing it to medium compound tyres by lap 30 of 53 (the opposite strategy to those who started at the front of the grid). Kobayashi started in 8th place and finished in 9th, scoring two points.
The Sauber C31 finished the 2012 season in a very respectable sixth place with 126 points (as much as a private team since 1993), two fastest laps (China andMonaco), four podiums (Malaysia,Canada,Italy andJapan) and 13 Q3. The car proved to be fast and very competitive, though inconsistent to find the set-up in some circuits and, above all, at the time of the race qualifications.[9][10]
Use in testingThe Sauber C31 has been used to test young drivers by the team. FormerIndyCar Series driverSimona de Silvestro tested the C31 during her time with the team. She drove the car at theFiorano Circuit, owned by engine supplier Ferrari and used by them to test. The car has also been used by the team to test young driversAdderly Fong andRoy Nissany in a two-day test at theCircuit Ricardo Tormo. The car completed 99 laps at the circuit on both days with Fong driving on day one and Nissany driving on day two.
Unlike previous cars such as theSauber C29 and to a lesser extent, theC30, the C31 has much more visual sponsorship applied to the car such asClaro,Telcel,Telmex,Tequila Cuervo,Visit México,Oerlikon,NEC andCertina. Many of which areMexican based companies brought from driver Sergio Pérez and reserve driverEsteban Gutiérrez.
At theSpanish Grand Prix theChelsea FC logo was added to the car.[11][12]
(key) (results inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Sauber F1 Team | Ferrari Type 056 | P | AUS | MAL | CHN | BHR | ESP | MON | CAN | EUR | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | KOR | IND | ABU | USA | BRA | 126 | 6th | |
| Kamui Kobayashi | 6 | Ret | 10 | 13 | 5 | Ret | 9 | Ret | 11 | 4 | 18† | 13 | 9 | 13 | 3 | Ret | 14 | 6 | 14 | 9 | ||||||
| Sergio Pérez | 8 | 2 | 11 | 11 | Ret | 11 | 3 | 9 | Ret | 6 | 14 | Ret | 2 | 10 | Ret | 11 | Ret | 15 | 11 | Ret |
† Driver failed to finish, but was classified as they had completed over 90% of the race distance.
