SAUBER PLANS FOR HALF-BILLION DOLLAR BABY
SAUBER’S plan to fast-track Russian teenager Sergey Sirotkin into Formula One has raised eyebrows. The financially-troubled Swiss team announced last week that they would prepare the youngster, who is 18 in August, for a 2014 race seat as part of a partnership with three Russian entities to secure Sauber’s survival. ‘I wasn’t ready at 18. I was pretty good at 18, so...,” commented Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who was world champion with McLaren in 2008 at the age of 23 and 301 days after making a sensational debut the previous year. Hamilton was the youngest champion until Germany’s Sebastian Vettel came along with Red Bull and won the first of his three titles to date in 2010 at the age of 23 and 134 days after making his debut at 19. Championship leader Vettel agreed with Hamilton that 18 might be too young. ‘When you are young and you dream about Formula One, you want to race no matter what. But I think things can be coming too early for you. I think I was probably just on the edge, if I look back now. It clearly took me a while to get how Formula One works, how the car works and to make sure that I’m driving the car and the car isn’t driving me.’ The youngest driver in Formula One to date is Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari, who made his debut in 2009 at the age of 19 years and 125 days. Sirotkin does not yet have the mandatory superlicence and cannot test until November. Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 champion who made a highly-controversial debut with Sauber in 2001 as a 21-year-old after just 23 car races in junior series, felt the Swiss team knew what they were doing. ‘They will take him if they feel it’s the right thing, so I don’t see that age will be the problem. It’s about experience. He might be ready, he might not. Time will tell,’ said the Finn. Sauber have been coy about the details of the partnership announced with Russia’s Investment Cooperation International Fund, the State Fund of Development of the NorthWest Russian federation and the National Institute of Aviation Technologies. The lack of financial specifics and the apparent involvement of Sirotkin’s father Oleg has raised further questions. ‘It appears to be some deal that a chap has put together to promote his son into Formula One,’ said John Booth, whose Marussia team are Russianowned but still struggling to attract major partners, even with a Russian Grand Prix planned for next year. ‘Sirotkin’s father is the head of the aeronautical institute. I’ve seen some drivers with decent support, but half a billion? That is some support that,’ he added, referring to some of the media speculation about how much the Sauber partnership might be worth.’