 Pascal Wehrlein driving the C36 at theMalaysian Grand Prix | |||||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Sauber | ||||||||||
| Designers |
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| Predecessor | Sauber C35 | ||||||||||
| Successor | Sauber C37 | ||||||||||
| Technical specifications[1][2][3] | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Carbon-fiber Monocoque | ||||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Upper and lower wishbone and pushrod activatedtorsion springs & rockers | ||||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Upper and lower wishbone and pullrod activatedtorsion springs & rockers | ||||||||||
| Engine | Ferrari 061 1,600 cc (97.6 cu in),Turbocharged, 90° -V6 engine, limited to 15,000RPM in alongitudinal layout | ||||||||||
| Electric motor | Motor Generator Unit–Kinetic and Motor Generator Unit–Heat | ||||||||||
| Transmission | Ferrari 8-speed quick-shift carbon gearbox | ||||||||||
| Weight | 728 kg (1,605.0 lb)(incl. driver) | ||||||||||
| Brakes | BremboCarbon brake discs,pads andcalipers | ||||||||||
| Tyres | |||||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||||
| Notable entrants | Sauber F1 Team | ||||||||||
| Notable drivers | |||||||||||
| Debut | 2017 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| Last event | 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | ||||||||||
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TheSauber C36 is aFormula One racing car designed and constructed bySauber to compete in the2017 Formula One World Championship. The car was driven byMarcus Ericsson andPascal Wehrlein, who joined the team fromManor Racing to replace outgoingFelipe Nasr.[4] Intended to be Sauber's lastFerrari powered car before joiningHonda as a factory team, the C36 is one of the few cars of F1's turbo hybrid era to have been powered by a year-old power unit.[2] This deal was eventually terminated by Sauber during the 2017 season when team principalMonisha Kaltenborn was replaced by new team owners Longbow Finance.[5][6] Wehrlein achieved each of the car's five points, a score which relegated the team to a tenth place finish in the World Constructors Championship for a second consecutive season.
Prior to the 2017 season, Sauber narrowly beat Manor to win the final prize money-winning position in the F1 World Constructors Championship. This lowly finishing position, combined with years of financial neglect, led to the team's takeover byFinn Rausing, a Swedish billionaire and owner of Longbow Finance. The C36's development was heavily impacted by the team's financial woes, leading Sauber to recycle the previous season'sFerrari 061 V6 power unit. Ferrari's comprehensive redesign of its V6 platform for 2017 changed the mounting points and shape of the new 062 engine, which the team was not prepared for and could not afford to accommodate in the C36.[7] Team representatives argued that performance gains associated with the new Ferrari unit would be limited by 2017's new technical regulations.
The C36 was revealed one week before the first pre-season test atCircuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and featured a blue, white, and gold livery that celebrated the team's 25th anniversary of competition in F1.[8] The C36 completed a respectable 788 laps across both pre-season test sessions, but set a fastest lap time that was slowest of all teams by three tenths.[9] Both race drivers participated in the test in addition to reserve driverAntonio Giovinazzi.
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The season started difficultly for the team after new lead driver Wehrlein suffered a major crash at the2017 Race of Champions that sidelined him from the first two rounds. The team drafted reserve driver Giovinazzi to take his place, who finished in a respectable twelfth place on his Formula 1 debut. However, at round two inShanghai, Giovinazzi crashed heavily twice at the final corner, causing major damage to the chassis and eventually retiring from the race. Three races after returning from injury, Wehrlein delivered the car's first points finish at round five inSpain. His seventh place result was later corrected to an eighth place finish after incurring a five second time penalty for a pit lane entry infringement. Three rounds later at theAzerbaijan Grand Prix, in the same weekend of team principal Kaltenborn's departure, Wehrlein finished in tenth position to secure another points finish for the team. He led teammate Marcus Ericsson to the flag, who finished in eleventh place to achieve what would be his best result for the remainder of the season.
The C36 was not a points contender for the rest of the season, achieving notability only for a strange crash between Wehrlein andJenson Button at Portier corner at theMonaco Grand Prix. A late move by Button on corner entry clipped Wehrlein's right rear tyre, flipping the C36 onto its left side tyres. This revealed the car's underside and floor plank to spectators and the global television feed, pinching Wehrlein against the seawall until track marshals arrived to extricate him. Later in the season at theMalaysian Grand Prix, the C36 fieldedFerrari Academy driverCharles Leclerc in Free Practice 1.
(key) (results inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | Grands Prix | Points | WCC | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | CHN | BHR | RUS | ESP | MON | CAN | AZE | AUT | GBR | HUN | BEL | ITA | SIN | MAL | JPN | USA | MEX | BRA | ABU | |||||||
| 2017 | Sauber F1 Team | Ferrari 061 | P | |||||||||||||||||||||||
 Marcus Ericsson | Ret | 15 | Ret | 15 | 11 | Ret | 13 | 11 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18† | Ret | 18 | Ret | 15 | Ret | 13 | 17 | 5 | 10th | ||||
 Antonio Giovinazzi | 12 | Ret | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Pascal Wehrlein | WD | 11 | 16 | 8 | Ret | 15 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 15 | Ret | 16 | 12 | 17 | 15 | Ret | 14 | 14 | 14 | |||||||
