Sauber C33 F1 Team 2014

Sauber has unveiled its 2014 car, the C33, which will be driven by Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez in this year's championship. It is the third Formula One car to be officially launched this year and pictures show another odd looking front end to satisfy safety regulations regarding the height of the nose. The car is powered by Ferrari's new V6 turbo and energy recovery system and will hit the track for the first time in Jerez on Tuesday.

"The radical changes to the technical regulations for 2014 mean that it's even harder than usual to make predictions for the new season," chief designer Eric Gandelin said. "We know what kind of package we've put together here, and we are happy with what we achieved, but it is difficult to foresee what shape our rivals are in.

"The earliest opportunity to gain an impression of where the teams are in relation to one another will come during testing. The path we have followed with the design of the Sauber C33-Ferrari allows us maximum flexibility, so that we can react quickly. It is also clear that reliability will be an important factor in the first few races in particular. So this is an area which we have given very high priority."

Sauber is hoping to rack up some mileage on the C33 in Jerez but additional performance parts will come ahead of the start of the season. "On the one hand this gives us time to maximise the development of these performance relevant parts," Gandelin explained. "On the other hand we can run the car during the first test and check all the systems, which we feel is crucial, considering all the technical changes."

After a poor start to 2013, Sauber improved in the second half of the season, but team principal Monisha Kaltenborn was cautious about making predictions for the coming season. "The first half of 2013 in particular was difficult for us, but the second half saw us making significant strides. We learnt a great deal during this time and will be applying the lessons in the new season.

"Due to the radical changes in the technical regulations [for 2014], predictions are simply impossible to make at this stage. Even more so than in previous years, any impression of how the teams stand against each other will only emerge once winter testing has been completed. That is also when we will announce our goals for the 2014 season. One thing's for sure: reliability will be of the essence, especially at the beginning of the season."

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