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Sauber will feature stepped nose

ESPNF1 Staff
January 30, 2012 « Barrichello still wants F1 return despite IndyCar test | Sutil 'extremely sorry' after Lux incident »
The Sauber is expected to feature a stepped nose © Sutton Images
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Peter Sauber has hinted that his team's 2012 car will feature a stepped nose similar to the one on the Caterham CT01.

The Caterham broke cover in the February issue of F1 Racing and early images revealed a sizable bump in the nose to comply with new technical regulations. Under the 2012 rules, the nose can be no higher than 55cm above the reference plane, while the monocoque remains at the same height as 2011 - 62.5cm.

On the CT01's launch, Caterham chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne said he expected other cars to feature the stepped nose and, in an interview with the Sonntagsblick newspaper, Sauber agreed.

"Yes, for reasons of aerodynamics, this step in the nose is almost inevitable," he said, one week before the C31 is revealed at Jerez. He added that the car will be fired up this week after passing all its crash tests and revealed the team is planning to introduce a new livery for 2012.

"That is a secret of course," when asked about the exact details of the colour scheme. "All I can say is that the basic colour is white, but the overall impression is dark, with red. In short, it is different. I remain a friend of the colour white, although often on television some cars cannot be well distinguished."

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