Sauber C36

The Sauber C36 is a Formula One racing car designed and constructed by Sauber to compete in the 2017 Formula One World Championship. The car was driven by Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein, who joined the team from Manor Racing to replace outgoing Felipe Nasr.^[4] Intended to be Sauber's last Ferrari powered car before joining Honda 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 principal Monisha 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.

Sauber C36

Pascal Wehrlein driving the C36 at the Malaysian Grand Prix
Category	Formula One
Constructor	Sauber
Designer(s)	Jörg Zander (Technical Director) Eric Gandelin (Chief Designer) Nicolas Hennel (Head of Aerodynamics)
Predecessor	Sauber C35
Successor	Sauber C37
Technical specifications[1][2][3]
Chassis	Carbon-fiber Monocoque
Suspension (front)	Upper and lower wishbone and pushrod activated torsion springs & rockers
Suspension (rear)	Upper and lower wishbone and pullrod activated torsion springs & rockers
Engine	Ferrari 061 1,600 cc (97.6 cu in),Turbocharged, 90° - V6 engine, limited to 15,000 RPM in a longitudinal 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	Brembo Carbon brake discs, pads and calipers
Tyres	Pirelli P Zero (Dry/Slick) Pirelli Cinturato (Wet/Treaded) OZ Racing Wheels: 13"
Competition history
Notable entrants	Sauber F1 Team
Notable drivers	9. Marcus Ericsson 36. Antonio Giovinazzi 94. Pascal Wehrlein
Debut	2017 Australian Grand Prix
Last event	2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Races Wins Podiums Poles F/Laps 20 0 0 0 0

Design and development

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 by Finn 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's Ferrari 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 at Circuit 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 driver Antonio Giovinazzi.

Competition history

Marcus Ericsson at the British Grand Prix

The season started difficultly for the team after new lead driver Wehrlein suffered a major crash at the 2017 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 in Shanghai, 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 in Spain. 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 the Azerbaijan 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 and Jenson Button at Portier corner at the Monaco 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 the Malaysian Grand Prix, the C36 fielded Ferrari Academy driver Charles Leclerc in Free Practice 1.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics 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

Notes

• † – Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as they had completed greater than 90% of the race distance.