1999 Driver Profiles by Julie Gates

Team: Sauber

by Julie Gates

The Team: Not promising big things for 1999, they met their own expectations. Failing to finish on eight occasions during the second half of the season alone, driver error and mechanical failures have reaped havoc with the team. Transmission and hydraulic based failures have proved popular. Also lacking the outright pace of their rivals, surprising with the Ferrari/Petronas engine, qualifying has been the real problem. Usually occupying the seventh of eighth row of the grid, the best qualifying performance during the second half of the season came at Japan when Alesi managed tenth. With performances being so shabby, Alesi made his feelings clear and announced his departure to the Prost Grand Prix team, but performances still failed to improve. Scoring only five points all season, the team disappointed themselves and their fans. However, Alesi's performance at Japan to finish sixth was impressive, and Diniz impressed: race pace was good.

Driver - Jean Alesi: Has been consistent over the first half of the season and this trend continued through the second. Retiring twice due to mechanical failures, he completed the other six race distances. He has regularly out-paced Pedro Diniz, and has been the better qualifier. Even though the Sauber lacked vital balance, he often managed to qualify in the top fifteen, with Suzuka seeing a tenth position. His fiery French temperament hasn't ruled the team as it did with Herbert in '98, although he made his feelings publicly known about the lack of performance coming from both his car and team. At the end of the day, he performed as well as anyone can expect given the circumstances. He regularly took the car home, often finishing in the top ten, and with the Sauber, this was a respectable performance.

Driver - Pedro Diniz: His performance during the latter half of the season has been little to be excited over. He completed only two race distances; six retirements due to accidents or spins is far from impressive. He was regularly out-paced by Alesi, although he out-qualified him at Austria and Germany. Surviving a horrific accident at the European Grand Prix, where his car was embedded upside down in the gravel trap, he came back and performed gallantly at Sepang until a spin put him out of the race. However, overall, whilst many have been impressed by the Brazilian - who is shedding the pay driver image - he has not performed as well as he ought, even considering being faced with a strong team mate. He simply made too many driver errors.

Conclusion: Overall, the team has had a disappointing season. Scoring only five points, reliability and driving errors have ruined hopes for success. Unable to unlock the potential of their Ferrari/Petronas engine thanks to handling difficulties, the team certainly. However, through the tough times, they did work hard to try and make the best of a bad situation. It's just a shame that effort doesn't guarantee points on the scoreboard.

Grade: D