Three years on, Motorsport Week takes a look back at the partnership between Sauber and Honda that never was, as two entities that confirmed their unity didn’t even get as far as marriage.
The start of the 2017 Formula 1 season was not promising for either Sauber or Honda.
After BMW’s exit at the end of 2009 Sauber struggled financially through the mid-2010s and, having scraped enough together for its very survival in 2016, entered 2017 with year-old Ferrari power units and a sub-standard chassis.
Honda, meanwhile, was beginning year three of its partnership with McLaren but a revised power unit concept set the project back amid performance and reliability issues.
The McLaren-Honda relationship was on rocky ground but the marque, having previously been resistant to the idea of breaking that exclusivity, became increasingly receptive to supplying a second team in order to gather more data and understanding of its concept.
At the end of April Sauber, under the stewardship of Monisha Kaltenborn, publicly confirmed that Honda was to become its power unit supplier from 2018, breaking a relationship with Ferrari that stretched back to 2010.
The drivers – Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein – were upbeat. “I think for the longer term it’s the right decision for the team,” said Ericsson, having acknowledged Honda’s shortcomings. “I think the potential is there.” Wehrlein added that “hopefully Honda is able to do its part to give Sauber the chance to be competitive next year.”
But a Sauber-Honda package never materialised.
Kaltenborn departed the team in June and shortly after her exit Frederic Vasseur – the long-time boss of junior powerhouse ART who had his first major F1 role as Renault’s Team Principal in 2016 – was given the keys to the top office at Hinwil.
Once of his first acts was to abort the Honda partnership, fearing that the uncertainty over McLaren’s commitment to Honda could negatively impact the Swiss minnows, particularly over the use of a gearbox. It was not a component that could be built internally at Hinwil. The design of the 2018 car was still at a point where it could be salvaged with a different power unit – and therefore gearbox.
The official line was that the decision was made “with the best intent for the future of the Sauber F1 Team in mind.” Honda commented that there were “differences in the future direction between Honda and Sauber, recognised during the preparation process for power unit supply systems.”
Shortly afterwards Sauber confirmed that it would renew its relationship with Ferrari.
The closest the two never-married parties came on-track was when Honda protégé Nobuharu Matsushita sampled Sauber’s Formula 1 car during the young driver test in Budapest, a few days after the split was confirmed.
It in theory left Honda without a team for 2018, but Red Bull had kept an eye on the situation and a deal was struck for Toro Rosso to become the Japanese supplier’s sole entity. The Toro Rosso-Honda deal was a complex one that involved several parties – including McLaren, Red Bull, Renault and Carlos Sainz Jr. – but crucially it kept the Japanese marque in the sport.
Honda’s gains in early 2018, allied to Renault’s plateaued performance, convinced Red Bull that it was ready to supply the senior team for 2019, and the partnership claimed three victories with Max Verstappen.
Sauber, meanwhile, strengthened its ties with Ferrari for 2018 by securing a current-year power unit deal while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was keen to utilise the Alfa Romeo brand, meaning a title partnership was signed.
Sauber’s renewed affiliation with Ferrari in effect gave the Italian squad sway over one seat, and for 2018 the reigning Formula 2 champion Charles Leclerc was handed his Formula 1 debut, with Mercedes-backed Wehrlein dropped. Leclerc’s performances at Sauber convinced Ferrari he was ready for 2019. Alfa Romeo then took over naming rights and 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen returned.
How might the situation have unfolded if Vasseur left the Honda deal untouched?
