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Sauber facing 'difficult time' - Kaltenborn

Sauber is facing financial difficulties but is confident it will continue racing © Sutton Images

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• Drivers:
• Monisha Kaltenborn

• Teams:
• Alfa Romeo

Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn has admitted her team is "going through a difficult time" financially but is confident it will find a solution soon.

The team has struggled for performance on track this season but is also struggling for funding and sponsors off track. At the Nurburgring there were rumours that driver Nico Hulkenberg has not been paid and Kaltenborn said the team had made no secret of its struggles.

"We have very openly said we are going through a difficult time but we are confident we will be out of it soon," she told ESPN. "That's it, there is nothing more to say. Clearly when you have limited resources you cannot develop as much as you want to and that's it."

However, there is also speculation that Sauber is closing on a deal to land a major sponsor or investor before the end of the month, and Kaltenborn is confident the team's plans for next season will not be affected.

"It's never ideal, but I don't think we are jeopardising next season."

Part of the problem for several teams in the paddock is the extra expenses expected to be incurred under the new engine regulations in 2014. Kaltenborn believes F1 should work together to secure the future of F1's smaller teams before they start to go under.

"We all endorsed these changes and what we should really do is not wait until it is too late for some teams," she said. "In many situations we always wait for something to happen and then react, but in this case there are so many teams struggling that I think we should really do something about it before anything happens. We shouldn't always wait for the big bang."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.