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Sauber confident it can turn things round

Not the best of starts ... Pedro de la Rosa's Sauber returns to the pits during pre-season testing © Sutton Images

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James Key, Sauber's technical director, said it is not too late to turn the team's fortunes round in 2010 after a poor start to the season.

Key switched from Force India to replace Willy Rampf last month, and speaking to Autosport he expressed confidence something could be salvaged from this season. "We now know what we need to do with the current car," he said. "However, for some issues there are no quick fixes. Some current characteristics of the car need to be developed to produce new characteristics, which takes time.

"Targets have been set and they are very ambitious. It's certainly possible to move up the grid, but the competition is fierce so we have to do everything we can to develop quicker than they do."

Key said the problems with the car were not complicated and work was already underway on fixing them before he joined. "I am forming a plan of the way we go forward, which fundamentally is attacking our known weaknesses and investigating areas we don't understand so well yet."

He explained much that has not worked has been as a result of the take-over which followed BMW's withdrawal last year and the need to switch from a major team to a budget operation. "The team is still recovering from its uncertain situation in the second half of 2009," he said. "It requires a slightly new approach to the way certain areas work to make better use of the size the team is now."

He said that work on the 2011 car was underway but it was a juggling act between that and getting things right in 2010.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.