Sauber to launch 2012 car at first test at Jerez

Sauber will launch their all-new Ferrari powered C31 on February 6 at the first pre-season test of the 2012 Formula One season.

Sauber will launch their all-new Ferrari powered C31 on February 6 at the first pre-season test of the 2012 Formula One season. The team finished seventh in the constructors' championship in the 2011 season with Japan's Kamui Kobayashi being the lead driver by finishing 12th in the drivers' championship with 30 points.

Kobayashi-at-the-Monaco-GP

However, the seventh place finish was an anticlimax for the team that recorded six straight points scoring finishes with Kobayashi after both he and Mexican teammate Sergio Perez were disqualified from the season opening Australian Grand Prix. The highlight for the team was Kobayashi's fifth place finish at Monaco, although Perez's high speed crash at the exit of the tunnel section was a cause for concern. Perez recovered from the crash but was forced to miss the following race at Montreal.

The team lost its momentum following the halfway point of the season and was eventually overtaken by Force India for sixth place in the constructors' standing.

The team will retain the services of both Kobayashi and Perez with 2010 GP3 Series champion Esteban Gutierrez continuing his role as a reserve and test driver while he embarks on his second season in the GP2 Series.