Adrian Sutil's Upturn in Form at 2014 US GP Should Not Lead to a Sauber Rethink
The absence of Marussia and, to a lesser extent, Caterham from the United States Grand Prix and Brazilian Grand Prix weekends has left Sauber with something of an open goal.
It is true that the loss of the perennial backmarkers has left the Swiss-based team, who were regular podium contenders just two years ago, at the rear of an 18-car field on pure pace. However, their view of the top 10, the points-paying positions which have eluded them all year, is now much better than it was only a month ago.
And with that clearer path has come a degree of confidence, a renewed sense of belief of scoring a point before the end of the 2014 campaign and preventing Sauber—sitting 10th in the constructors' championship—from enduring their worst season in their 21-year history in Formula One.
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The feeling that this was the moment for Sauber to take advantage of their rivals' misfortune and finally make an impression on the season was evident on Saturday at the Circuit of the Americas, with Adrian Sutil, the team's lead driver, reaching the third segment of qualifying for the first time in 2014.
Such a promising result ended talk of a boycott of the race in protest against the handling of the sport's finances—Bob Fernley, Force India's deputy team principal, had told BBC Sport's Andrew Benson after qualifying that "the bottom three teams are considering it"—with Sauber never likely to pass up the chance of salvaging their season.
Yet, three quarters into the first lap of the race, the team would have been forgiven for opting to sit on the sidelines, after Sutil—having done a good job of retaining his starting position of ninth—was wiped out by Sergio Perez at the tricky Turn 15. The Mexican overcooked the corner and clumsily hit the rear-left of Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari, leaving the German unable to avoid being hit twice in quick succession by Perez.
The sight of the Sauber of Sutil sitting on the edge of the track, with its front-left wheel dislocated, as a recovery vehicle arrived to remove it from the scene of the accident was heartbreaking and encapsulated life at the back of the field, where little ever goes to plan and one develops a sorry habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In that sense, the incident carried similarities to his retirement from the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix where—again through no fault of his own—the German, running in fourth place, was removed from proceedings as Raikkonen lost control under braking for the Nouvelle chicane and speared into Sutil when he was just six laps away from securing Force India's first points finish.
Although Sauber will have at least one more chance to register some points over the final two races—the changeable weather conditions at Brazil's Interlagos circuit, in theory, should present a bigger opportunity than the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, despite the uncertainty surrounding double points—whether Sutil himself can do enough to secure his F1 future is a different matter.
Soon after Sutil's heroics in qualifying, Sauber announced the signing of Marcus Ericsson, the Caterham rookie, for 2015. This left the German and teammate Esteban Gutierrez—who would have suffered the humiliation of being the last of the 15 finishes in the United States Grand Prix had Daniil Kvyat not suffered tyre damage in the latter stages—fighting for their futures.
And neither driver is likely to have a future at Sauber, with Bild's Nicola Pohl tweeting that the team will promote Giedo van der Garde, the 2014 reserve driver, to a race seat alongside Ericsson and Sky Sports' Ted Kravitz claiming that a deal for the Dutchman was "done some time ago."
It would mark some turnaround for Sutil, who has frequently reiterated his confidence at remaining with Sauber this season, telling Sky Sports' Mike Wise over the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, "I’ll be here for much longer so sorry, but you’ll have to live with my face," and informing the official F1 website in June: "I have a contract with this team. I have made a commitment for a few years."
The German, though, seemed much more cagey when questioned about his future on the grid during Sky Sports' television coverage of the United States Grand Prix, telling Martin Brundle: "(There have been) a lot of talks but, you know, that's how it is in Formula One. I'm concentrating here on my race and in the last two races there's still plenty of work to do for us, to score a few points hopefully and that's the target."
The German has once before found himself frozen out of F1, with Force India opting to partner his countryman, Nico Hulkenberg, with Paul Di Resta, for 2012 before taking him back the following season. However, the 31-year-old would almost certainly find it harder to return once again, having failed to justify his place in the sport in 2013 and, of course, this year.
Sutil's standout performance in qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas, then, was not the sign of a slight resurgence by a team trying to nab a place in the constructors' standings—it was a driver making a last-gasp effort to save his skin.
But having been prevented the opportunity to build upon his Saturday showing at the Austin track, it seems like a case of "too little, too late" for Sutil at Sauber and, indeed, in Formula One.
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