• Sauber news

Sauber blames 'bizarre' FIA

Peter Sauber believes other teams found over a second a lap by developing the off-throttle blown diffuser © Sutton Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News:
• Kobayashi feels stronger after season as lead driver
  
• News:
• FIA confident exhaust confusion is over
  
• News:
• FIA willing to scrap exhaust clampdown
  

• Drivers:
• Peter Sauber

• Teams:
• Alfa Romeo

Sauber team principal Peter Sauber has blamed the FIA for costing his team sixth place in the constructors' championship.

After the British Grand Prix, Sauber was comfortably in sixth place, 16 points clear of Toro Rosso and 21 ahead of Force India. At that race, however, the FIA had backtracked over a ban on off-throttle diffuser blowing, and Sauber had already stopped development on the system. Having confirmed seventh place in the standings at the Brazilian Grand Prix Sauber said that the final outcome was slightly tainted by the FIA's indecision which harmed his team more than most.

"For all the joy we have not forgotten that we wanted more," Sauber wrote in a column for Blick. "At mid season we were solidly in position 6, but we soon fell behind Force India. The reason is the blown diffuser and the so-called 'off-throttle-blowing'."

"We stopped this development after the FIA announced the ban. That proved to be a mistake because the FIA went back and bizarrely allowed this technology again. It got us badly on the defensive into the second half of the season. Those with the systems optimised their advantage, achieving much more than a second per lap."

The FIA has since banned the practice of blowing diffusers for next year, and Sauber said that meant the team's current car was already close to 2012 specification.

"Other than that, the rule changes (for next season) are moderate. Therefore our (2012 car) C31 will not be a revolution but rather a targeted evolution, albeit with numerous changes."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.