Sauber waiting until Spa for new Ferrari

Jun.21 (GMM) Sauber has denied claims it cannot afford to run the latest version of Ferrari's power unit.

When Ferrari's token-upgraded new specification made its bow in Canada, Felipe Nasr said the Swiss team was "not happy" it had not been made available to customer Sauber.

But Sauber chief Monisha Kaltenborn said her engineers are simply running a different strategy to Ferrari.

"We are told that Ferrari is still continuing its development," she is quoted by Italy's Autosprint, "so from that point of view we expect a big upgrade on the engine after the summer break.

"When that happens, it will come when we also hope to introduce a package of important updates on the car," said Kaltenborn.

In reality, however, that means Sauber is four races behind its supplier Ferrari when it comes to getting the latest power unit.

Surely that cannot really be the small team's plan?

"It has nothing to do with finances," Kaltenborn insisted. "It is our strategy and what is best for us. We are on our second engine and Ferrari has used the third, so they have a different programme.

"It is a different approach when you need to go back to an older engine later on," she added, referring to Ferrari's apparent plan.