Sauber has become the first team to show its new car for the 2017 F1 season in action.
The C36, which was launched on Monday, ran at the Circuit de Catalunya for a filming day.Marcus Ericsson was at the wheel. Pascal Wehrlein, who will be unable to participate in the first test due to injury, also attended.
The first test of the 2017 campaign is due to begin at the circuit on Monday.
Side-by-side: Sauber C36 and C35 at the Circuit de Catalunya
Compare this year’s new Sauber with last year’s car at the same track:
Get all the 2017 F1 race, test and launch dates on your mobile device using the F1 Fanatic Calendar
2017 F1 season
- Sepang pays Haas compensation for Grosjean’s 2017 crash
- Williams revenues rose in 2017 after Bottas deal with Mercedes
- Australian Grand Prix cost government £56 million last year
- “Grand Prix Driver” takes you inside McLaren’s nightmare final year with Honda
- Undisputed champion: 10 titles name Hamilton top driver of 2017
Robbie (@robbie)
22nd February 2017, 22:22
Great stuff. Looks so much better on the track as I’m sure all the cars will. Exciting times.
Fudge Kobayashi (@)
22nd February 2017, 22:37
+1, world of difference!
Mick
23rd February 2017, 6:06
+2 car looks great.
G. (#F1insperations) (@greggriffiths)
23rd February 2017, 6:13
+1 – also the numbers are in the blue bulge – nice work Sauber.
Damon (@damon)
23rd February 2017, 9:26
YES! When a F1 car is wide and has wide tyres, it looks like a beast, and little can diminish that.
Matthijs (@matthijs)
23rd February 2017, 7:38
@robbie Yes, they look so much better already. Imagine how great they look after a year or two. The first year with new regulations the new cars always seem a bit odd. Remember 1998 when some cars were a bit bulky, 2009 when the cars looked well out of shape or the ugly noses in 2014.
Todfod (@todfod)
23rd February 2017, 8:16
+ 1
For sure
I don’t understand the bashing of the Sauber and Renault cars on launch. The Sauber looks absolutely fantastic on track
Hugh (@hugh11)
23rd February 2017, 10:42
Agreed. It’s still not my favourite, but I really disliked it when the images came out, but on the track it looks decent tbh.
Mangy Black Sheep (@mangyblacksheep)
22nd February 2017, 22:23
Here’s another video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EixDrunQKa0
The car looks really good in-action. It looks like a 2008 car with slicks, a different nose, and a wider front wing.
Ben
22nd February 2017, 23:09
It’s crazy to think they get almost the same crowd numbers for this filming day as they do at the Grand Prix.
Dim sim (@dimsim)
23rd February 2017, 0:52
Haha yeah exactly. They managed the sponsor set to the crowd demographic perfectly! Amazing.
Matthijs (@matthijs)
23rd February 2017, 7:40
@mangyblacksheep I would really be interested in a comparison between a 2008 and a 2016-car. But I am afraid to ask Keith again so I won’t. :)
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
22nd February 2017, 22:24
Those 2 pictures at the bottom of the article… somehow, to me at least, there doesn’t seem to be that much of a difference. The angle is almost perfect, but appart from the rear tyre, I can’t seem to realize exactly how much wider the car is. It’s like a weird optical illusion.
I looks alright, I guess. But it’s not the huge impression I thought I’d have. Maybe it’s this car… the Renault looked miles better even on the studio shots, so maybe on track it’ll also look better.
MikeR
22nd February 2017, 22:47
How can you say that there is little difference? It is not only the rear tyres, the whole back end of the car is different, the airbox is bigger (visibly), the wing is lower and wider, and the tyres are larger, but at the front end the tyres are almost as wide as the rear tyres were on the 2016 car, the nose is wider and flatter and the wing is (unfortunately) bigger and more complex. If they were on track together you would soon know the difference!
kpcart
23rd February 2017, 8:51
It looks way different
Hotasbottas
22nd February 2017, 22:51
These recent daily build up’s have been much wanted, too long since and not long until. Role on the next chapter.
Hotasbottas
22nd February 2017, 22:52
*Roll even
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
22nd February 2017, 22:53
NO WAY! They actually createad that strange blue blob to actually fit the car with a readable carnumber! How awesome is that?
George (@george)
22nd February 2017, 23:12
I keep seeing 57 instead of 9 on the nose though, that’s a pretty horrid font.
luigismen (@luigismen)
23rd February 2017, 5:10
Don’t get it, how’s that you see 57? Doesn’t look that bad to me.
James Coulee
22nd February 2017, 22:59
NOW I see the difference :)
James Coulee
22nd February 2017, 23:02
That leaning rear wing though makes me crazy… I can’t reconcile F1 with a mandatory strictly decorative feature….
kpcart
23rd February 2017, 8:50
There has been other mandatory parts on f1 cars before, ie 4 wheels and one seat.
Tony Mansell
23rd February 2017, 9:21
very droll
sward (@)
22nd February 2017, 23:31
Love everything about these cars expect how the rear wing folds in as it goes down. Looks silly to me.
Ashwin (@redbullf1)
23rd February 2017, 16:24
Yeah and here I was thinking I was the only one who had trouble accepting that haha.
@sward28
Mathew (@martix)
22nd February 2017, 23:36
Those colors remainds me Williams 1994-97 livery so much…
Dom (@3dom)
22nd February 2017, 23:52
Looks awesome. Can’t wait to see the other cars. The second and third, and fifth and sixth pictures in particular give you a good impression of the changes, very welcome changes at that. The rears of the card look particularly good
Kepler62f
23rd February 2017, 0:28
I maybe the only one but I like the larger front wing ; ever since they introduced the new engines they also introduced narrower front wings ; it didnt help the teams and certainly it didnt help the tyres. Imo, the larger front wings are able to work more efficiently to channel air be it warm or cold around the car hence no more ‘I cant overtake this guy’ or ‘ he’s backing me up’
Come to think of it Lewis used the backing up manouvre in yet another race apart from Abu Dhabi 2016 . . . . China 2015.
Jon (@johns23)
23rd February 2017, 0:59
Amazing after a few days of reveals, The 2017 cars are making the older ones look a bit odd. They look way tougher now. Could you imagine one of these screaming by with a V10. that would be something.
vibjorn
23rd February 2017, 2:01
yepp exactly a V10 that would be great, but still
what a MASSIVE IMPROVEMENT especially the rear tyres and rear wing, man i have been waiting and asking
for those improvements. Just look at that incredably ugly high narrow rear wing and
those narrow tyres of 2016 and recent years, unworthy of a F1 car.
We should all thank Niki Lauda and those who pushed the New regs through apparently
against a lot of resistance. I know i was sick of the sight of the “hybrid f1 car”
in fact i would say the 2017 cars are the best looking since the early 90`s
If there is one thing wrong it`s the front “fishgill like” frontwing a simple smaller twoplane
would be better and offcourse a V10 or a8/12 for that matter.
Can`t wait to see the rest.
imamsukoco
23rd February 2017, 2:32
Good point to start filming day before testing for small team, in this way then can do system check for commissioning the car (small team have small resources) and hope there is no start-up problem when testing.
Sumedh
23rd February 2017, 4:29
I knew the oblique rear wing will look much racier and it does. Yes, it is fake and seems purely comestic but does make it look awesome.
stg
23rd February 2017, 5:29
What about the sounds ?? sounds is seems the same..I was expecting more on the sound side..
PT (@pt)
23rd February 2017, 6:05
Now it actually looks wide. And now I’m happy :) :)
Selbbin (@selbbin)
23rd February 2017, 6:24
I can’t believe how old last year’s cars already look!
Boli (@boli)
23rd February 2017, 9:15
+1. And smaller, more toy-like.
These cars look mean. To a die hard viewer of just 12 years (im 28) I never got to watch the races of old, apart from a few replays now and then, so these cars look truly awesome!
GeeMac (@geemac)
23rd February 2017, 8:33
That looks so fantastic on track, I really am overjoyed. Can’t wait to see 20 of them lining up in Melbourne…
Mike (@grippgoat)
23rd February 2017, 8:36
Meh. Call me back when there’s videos of the cars at full tilt driven in anger.
Guybrush Threepwood
23rd February 2017, 8:42
I don’t hate the shark fin (except for Force India’s…) but I definitely think the cars would look better without them. Still, nothing compared to the hideous step noses of years gone by.
bosyber (@bosyber)
23rd February 2017, 10:42
I guess for the step noses FI also has you covered though @guybrushthreepwood …
kpcart
23rd February 2017, 8:48
Wider tyres look great on open wheelers, glad they didn’t bring in the pram 18inch wheels.
Tony Mansell
23rd February 2017, 9:15
WOWZER! Looks great just on a track. dribble dribble.
sean
23rd February 2017, 9:39
while the wider and lower (rear wing) look is good, can’t help myself but think the cars are way too long…
stefano (@alfa145)
23rd February 2017, 9:49
It looks terrific, expecially in comparison with the old one!
Really awesome. Sharkfin is not bad but would look much better to me if it wasn’t higher than rear spoiler. Never really liked these nose-like fronts but whatever, red bull and mercedes will deliver on this side as well, I’m sure