Sauber Car Launch: F1 Team Release Images and Details of New C33-Ferrari

Sauber are the latest team to disclose details of their new concept for the upcoming Formula One season, having released the first images and information on their 2014 car, which has been dubbed the "C33-Ferrari." 

The slick black design will be given its maiden public outing at the first bout of winter tests in Jerez, Spain, next week, and Sauber drivers Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez will be keen to get behind the wheel of the car that they hope will inspire the team to great things during the 2014 season.

The Sauber F1 team released images of the C33-Ferrari via their official Twitter account:

The man behind the C33's design, Eric Gandelin, offered an insight into the design process and insisted that maintaining early reliability was the bedrock of this particular concept, per Phillip Horton of F1 Zone:

"

The path we have followed with the design of the Sauber C33-Ferrari allows us maximum flexibility, so that we can react quickly.

It is also clear that reliability will be an important factor in the first few races in particular. So this is an area which we have given very high priority.

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Sauber became the fourth team to release details of their motor for the upcoming season after Lotus' E22, Ferrari's F14 T (pictured below) and McClaren's MP4-29 were all revealed earlier in the week.

It makes up a foursome of cars that have a host of different design features and appearances, which should make for some intriguing viewing in the first winter test.

The C33-Ferrari has a very long, snout-like nose and front-wing pylons, which are positioned particularly wide on the car. The pylons have been moved in keeping with new regulations, which have reduced the maximum allowed width of the front wing from 180cm to 165cm.

With a change in the engine regulations to take effect for this season—which allows 1.6-litre super-charged engines to be used—it's difficult to speculate as to how each team's design will adapt and react to the added power.

Because of this, the Sauber engineers "followed the path of greatest possible flexibility," which will enable them to "respond to unexpected factors or developments," per the team's official website.

It's something that Gandelin also spoke about, insisting it is difficult to get a read on the opposition until the cars are actually put to the test, per Phillip Horton of F1 Zone:

"

We know what kind of package we’ve put together here, and we are happy with what we achieved, but it is difficult to foresee what shape our rivals are in.

The earliest opportunity to gain an impression of where the teams are in relation to one another will come during testing. The path we have followed with the design of the Sauber C33-Ferrari allows us maximum flexibility, so that we can react quickly.

"

For Sutil and Gutierrez, they will be hoping that this latest design will see the team jump up the F1 standings in the 2014 season.

Kamran Jebreili/Associated Press

A drop in performance last year saw the team finish with just 57 points accumulated from drivers Gutierrez and Nico Hulkenberg, as well as a final standing of seventh in the Constructors Championship. That compared to a points haul of 126 and a finishing position of sixth in the 2012 season, per the F1 official website.

With the experience of Sutil recruited for the upcoming campaign and a slick new design to boot, expect Sauber make a much stronger impression this time round.