At the end of the 2001 season, with a fourth-place finish in the Constructors’ Championship, the Swiss Sauber Petronas team celebrated the best result since entering Formula 1. With this spirit and the hope of improving further, Peter Sauber strengthened the group of engineers tasked with designing the new 2002 Sauber C21. German engineer from Düsseldorf, Willy Rampf, remained at the head of the project, once again serving as Technical Director, as did Leo Ress, who retained his position from the previous season as Director of Engineering. Sergio Rinland, designer of the previous C20, left for Arrows and was replaced by a design team of no fewer than 24 engineers, who, under Rampf’s direction, conceived the new car for the Hinwil-based team in Switzerland. Chassis Design Manager Ian Thomson was replaced by German engineer Christoph Zimmermann, Phil Amaboldi was appointed Head of Vehicle Concept, and for the car’s aerodynamics, existing Head of Aerodynamics Seamus Mullarkey was joined by young South African engineer Dirk de Beer, taking on his first role as Aerodynamics Head for a Formula 1 team.
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| SAUBER C21, Nick Heidfeld Indianapolis, USA GP 2002 |
Given the excellent results achieved with the 2001 car, the new C21 was initially not very different from its predecessor, the C20, of which it was a direct evolution, apart from some modifications to radiator placement, suspension setup, and the rear diffuser. At the start of the season, the bodywork was almost identical to that of 2001, although over the course of the year, despite lacking an in-house wind tunnel, whose construction began in 2002 and would only be completed in 2003, continuous aerodynamic updates and technical developments led to the removal of the sidepod-mounted chimneys used for hot air extraction, and the return to more traditional vertical pylons to support the front wing, replacing the inverted-V supports that had also been used in the early 2002 races. The shape of the air intake above the driver’s head was also changed, now triangular instead of round, along with a revised engine cover design.
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| SAUBER C21, Felipe Massa Melbourne, Australian GP 2002 |
In 2002, the Swiss team continued to use Ferrari engines, renamed Petronas 02A at the request of the Malaysian oil company, which paid around £13 million for the supply of the Italian V10 units—specifically the Tipo 050 used in Ferrari’s F2001 the previous year. Despite updates made by Sauber’s engine department, the V10 produced about 15 hp less than the previous Tipo 049 due to a different exhaust layout and cooling system on the Swiss cars, as well as a rev limit of 16,500 rpm imposed by Ferrari technicians to avoid failures, compared to over 18,000 rpm on the Maranello cars. Even so, with over 800 hp and weighing just over 100 kg, the Petronas 02A remained one of the most competitive engines of 2002, coupled with a completely new, lighter, stiffer, and more compact Sauber-built transmission, still a longitudinal seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox. The new C21’s livery was almost identical to the 2001 version, dominated by Red Bull blue and Petronas aqua green, while the nose tip and front wing retained the white of sponsor Credit Suisse. In the final three races of the season, Sauber supported the international campaign against AIDS, painting the cars’ bargeboards white with the slogan “Stop AIDS” alongside the campaign’s logo.
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| SAUBER C21, Felipe Massa Spa-Francorchamps, Belgian GP 2002 |
The new C21 was unveiled to the public on 25 January 2002 at the team’s Hinwil headquarters, in a ceremony where the two race drivers were officially announced. German Nick Heidfeld was confirmed as lead driver, while for the second seat, after losing the talented Kimi Räikkönen to McLaren, Peter Sauber pulled another promising youngster out of the hat: Brazilian Felipe Massa. Fresh from winning the Formula 3000 Championship, Massa was contacted by Sauber to test the old C20 at Mugello at the end of 2001. His impressive lap times immediately convinced Sauber to offer the young Brazilian a two-year contract, securing another rising star. The C21 proved quick in the early part of the championship, right behind Ferrari, Williams, and McLaren, and on par with Renault. Although both Heidfeld and Massa were eliminated from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in a multi-car crash at the first corner, they scored a double points finish in Malaysia, with Massa in the points already in his second Formula 1 appearance, which was also his first actual race. Another double points finish in Spain followed, but the season progressed slightly below expectations, with regrets over missed opportunities due to small technical issues and, above all, driver errors. Heidfeld’s brakes failed at Interlagos, he was slowed by radio communication problems at Imola, and at the Austrian Grand Prix he heavily rear-ended the lapped Jordan of Takuma Sato after losing control under braking. Both he and Massa suffered electronic problems in Canada, forcing them to exceed pit-lane speed limits and incur drive-through penalties. Massa also retired from several races after driving errors and collisions with other cars due to his impetuosity. At Monza, during the Italian Grand Prix, after a clash with Pedro de la Rosa’s Jaguar, Massa was handed a ten-place grid penalty for the following race in Indianapolis. Peter Sauber decided to bench him temporarily, replacing him with highly experienced German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
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| SAUBER C21, Nick Heidfeld Hockenheim, German GP 2002 |
Heidfeld’s performance was more consistent, with several finishes just behind the top cars and an unbroken string of race completions from the Monaco Grand Prix to the end of the season. From mid-August, starting with the Hungarian Grand Prix, a clear drop in the C21’s performance, caused by a lack of updates due to budget constraints, led the team to focus all efforts and the limited budget on designing the new C22 for the 2003 season. The 2002 campaign ended with a disappointing fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship with just 11 points, well short of the 21 scored the year before. Even Renault, newly returned to Formula 1 after taking over Benetton, finished ahead of Sauber in the standings, and the resurgent Jordan closed in dangerously at the end of the season. The Swiss team would have to work hard to regain the competitiveness lost during 2002.
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