Sauber Confirm Illegality in Wing Construction, Still Lodge Appeal

After they have launched an internal investigation on the legality of their front wings during last weekend's Australian Grand Prix, Sauber F1 Team have found out that the breach of the rear wing rules was indeed true, even if it was by as little as 3 milimeters.

Despite a sensational race from rookie Sergio Perez and a great performance by his teammate Kamui Kobayashi last Sunday – as they finished in 7th and 8th places, respectively – both Sauber C30s were disqualified from the race by the FIA stewards for failing to comply with the technical rules of the international body.

To be more precise, the concave radius of the upper wing element measured less than 100mm – as stated in the FIA rulebook.

“A lunacy,” burst team owner Peter Sauber after finding out the results of his investigation. “The radius was 95 or 97 millimetres. We're devastated.”

Despite failing to comply with the rules, Sauber will go ahead and appeal the decision. According to Swiss newspaper Blick, team manager Beat Zehnder has already notified the FIA on the matter, as the Hinwil based team believed the rule-breaking did not led to any important advantage in the race.

“We have two different types of wing, and one of them seems not to have been precisely controlled during the construction,” said Sauber. “But for sure there was no (performance) advantage. Even more painful is that Force India are now in the points with both cars.”

With a statement from the FIA still pending on the matter, former Grand Prix driver and stewards panel member in Australia, Johnny Herbert, told The National newspaper: “Unfortunately, the rules were clear and we had no choice but to disqualify them.”