#HitTheBeeps

The history of Sauber may not be as infamous as some of the more illustrious names in Formula One like Ferrari and Mclaren, but for 20 years they have been an integral part of the sports DNA.
And it's saddening to see a race winning team who, under BMW Sauber (Robert Kubica at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2008), and last year finishing 7th in the Constructors Championship, sat anchored with Caterham at the bottom of the table with no points so far this season.
Even more bitter is Marussia, one of the new teams of F1, overtaking them in the standings after Jules Bianchi's 9th place at Monaco.

Suffering on all fronts; be it reduced finances, a lack of resources and issues surrounding the C33 car itself; most noticeably down to the cars excess weight.
Having reduced 10 kilos off of the Barcelona spec car back in May, driver Adrian Sutil called for the need to lose a further 10 kilos for the car to be competitive.

Unsettling times ahead for Esteban Gutierrez?

 

What hasn't helped either is the poor performances of Mexican Esteban Gutierrez, whose highest 12th place finish was at the opening race of the season in Australia, and so far has had 4 DNF's.
This abysmal form was highlighted yesterday in the British Grand Prix when he caused a incident down the inside at Vale corner with Lotus' Pastor Maldonado, launching him into the air and awarding himself a 3 place grid penalty for the German Grand Prix in 2 weeks times.

At moments like these, 'rookie' mistakes only exacerbate matters more for Team Principle Monisha Kaltenborn, and as we reach the half way point of the season, it would be no surprise if a change in driver line up was instigated to rejuvenate the team and try something new to score those all important points which are worth millions of dollars.

Many would see Dutch reserve driver Giedo Van Der Garde as the obvious replacement for Gutierrez, who, after driving for Caterham last season, has been a part of 4 Friday Practice sessions including one back in April where he was over 2 seconds faster than Esteban Gutierrez at the Shanghai International Circuit for the Chinese Grand Prix.
Van Der Garde is also set to be a part of Wednesdays test session at Silvestone.

The 29 year-old's experience, going back to 1998 when he was crowned Dutch karting champion and then winning the Formula Super A World Championship in 2002, could be the catalyst that Sauber need to ride this storm and turn things around for the Swiss team.