Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs
The dream of having an American team in Formula One may be dead, but that doesn't mean our friends South of the Border can't take a stab at it. A couple of years ago, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim was tied to potentially buying out Honda's F1 team when the Japanese automaker was preparing to withdraw from the sport. That deal never came to be, but the world's wealthiest man (having recently surpassed the likes of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett) appears to be moving in on the Sauber team.After racing for years as an independent team, Sauber sold out to BMW a few years back, which then subsequently followed Honda off the grid, leaving Peter Sauber to support the team on his own once again. Strapped for cash, the team has been racing plain white cars largely without major sponsorship this season, but a new deal could secure the team's future.
The deal involves sponsorship from Slim's company Telmex for an untold amount. Along with it, Sauber has signed Mexican driver Sergio Perez to a race seat for next season. Perez won the national class in British Formula Three back in 2007, drove for Team Mexico in A1GP and has won several races in GP2, a series in which he currently sits second. He's never driven an F1 car, though, but will race alongside Kamui Kobayashi next season. The news leaves Nick Heidfeld without a seat yet again as Perez signs as well with the Ferrari Driver Academy.
Coupled with the recently-announced contract to bring in GP3 champion Esteban Gutierrez, who also races under the Mexican flag as the team's test/reserve driver for next season, the news gives the struggling Swiss team a decidedly picante flavor for the upcoming season.
[Source: Sauber]
Continue reading Sauber F1 goes Mexican with Carlos Slim and new drivers
Sauber F1 goes Mexican with Carlos Slim and new drivers originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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