After last weekend's surprise announcement that Sauber had signed Swedish Caterham refugee Marcus Ericsson for next year, the team provided another shock yesterday on the eve of this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, as they announced that Williams reserve driver and runner up in the GP2 series this year, Felipe Nasr, would partner Ericsson at Sauber next year.
Both deals were a surprise as the team already has a contract with Adrian Sutil next year, whilst it was expected that the teams necessity for drivers to provide sponsorship money would be provided either by existing driver Esteban Gutierrez with his wealthy Mexican Telmex backing, or by reserve driver Geido Van Der Garde and his sizeable Dutch McGregor sponsor. Whilst Nasr will provide some sponsorship funds from Brazil, it doesn't appear he could provide as much as Gutierrez or Van Der Garde.
Nasr was understandably delighted with the announcement and stated "It is a very important step in my career to sign with the Sauber F1 Team for the 2015 Formula One World Championship, This is an unforgettable moment that I owe to all of those who have supported me - my family, my friends, my sponsors, my teams and my country. Today the dream has come true. Sauber was responsible for the arrival in F1 of great names such as Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel. I am proud now to also be part of this racing family."
Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn also commented on the announcement "We have been following Felipe's career path for some time now, and he fully deserves his position in Formula One having had a very successful career in junior categories, We are happy that he will be driving for our team next year. This means that Brazil will have one more young and talented driver in the sport. Banco do Brasil has been an important partner for Felipe so far, and we are delighted that such a renowned company is continuing to support him during this important step. We look forward to this partnership."
Whilst Nasr and Kaltenborn were pleased with the news, one of those who wasn't, unsurprisingly, was current driver Adrian Sutil. He wants talks with the team to clarify the situation, as he clearly feels aggrieved his contract for next year is not being honored by the team. Sutil commented "They confirmed two drivers, but it doesn't mean the drivers are going to drive. And it doesn't mean the team is going to drive. So there is no real change from last weekend to this weekend. It is just an announcement. Now of course from my situation I think I have to do some talking to sort out the things."
For now at least it seems Sauber will line up on the 2015 grid with Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr, although things can quickly change in F1 and I wouldn't be surprised if we haven't heard the last of this story over the winter, as both Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez have lost by far their most likely way of staying in F1 next year. What are your thoughts on the announcement?
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