This week's Grapevine brings you information fresh from the paddock on: Sauber and Massa 2003 Review - Part Two

Sauber and Massa

The long anticipated announcement of Felipe Massa's return to Sauber will come as no surprise to followers of the sport – Sauber and Ferrari have been working closely for years, so the only real question is, what are Ferrari offering in order to have one of their drivers being trained by the team? Depending which rumours you listen to, that question has some interesting responses, arguably the best of which is based on the premise that Ferrari have made the plans for the back end of the F2003-GA available to Sauber for the new season.

Having these plans is not quite the same as implementing them, for all that Sauber have a reputation for taking Ferrari components and improving on them; however, how much they play with this package remains to be seen, as it is expected to give the team a route away from the pitch problems they faced with last year's car. The Ferrari solution is less sensitive to the undertray stalling, has a tidier, more slippery aerodynamic solution for the airflow around the rear suspension and gearbox, and a solid reliability record.

Importantly, having a good basis for the back of the car significantly reduces the development costs for the whole package, which frees up budget for developing the car through the season.

Having worked with Ferrari for the last year, Massa has considerable experience in setting up their cars according to the rubber Bridgestone is offering. This exposure to one of the best cars on the grid provides him with an excellent view of what a car can feel like when it is properly dialled in. He is expected to provide direct feedback on how Sauber's modifications to the Ferrari back end compare with the original.

As long as Massa's speed has not been compromised by his year of testing, he should be quick at events. His feedback in testing should have improved considerably, and a year of pounding out test miles should have tempered him, making him more likely to keep the car on the circuit when racing. All told, the price of training up a Ferrari driver weighs in Sauber's favour, at least for the next season. It's just ironic, particularly after Eddie Jordan's prediction that his team will beat Sauber next year, the last team to put a Ferrari back end on their car was Prost, and they went on to suffer a season no-one would want to remember.

2003 Review - Part Two

A look back at some of the stories doing the rounds though the last season:

Tip of the Iceberg

The public exchange of letters between the FIA and Williams and McLaren over the abrupt rule changes made for a heap of negative media coverage; however, it provided the teams with sufficient leverage to ensure that traction control and car-to-pits telemetry remained a part of the package.

Williams Target Early Wins

Looking ahead to the early races, Williams believed they would be able to take advantage of McLaren and Ferrari's delayed 2003 car introductions. in the event, Montoya span off the track in Australia to hand a win to Coulthard, Malaysia saw the team off the pace, whilst the weather made a mockery of Brazil.

VW Examine Formula One

The annual rumours that Volkswagen were considering pursuing a Formula One venture came and went – though both Jordan and Sauber were involved in conversations over what would be required from a works deal under the Audi banner. Considering the investment required, it's little wonder that the manufacturer is looking for greater clarity over the future of the sport beyond the end of the current Concorde Agreement in 2007.

HANS On!

Following Rubens Barrichello's special dispensation to race without the device, and Justin Wilson's dead arm following a mishap, the FIA came under pressure to make wearing it voluntary. As predicted, they refused. Then Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso both suffered big accidents in Brazil, and both claimed the HANS device saved them from probable injury.

Pushing the Safety Envelope

The nearly constant stream of cars dropping off the track the third corner in Brazil led to the FIA taking a look at how to avoid the potential problem of a car arriving at the scene of an earlier accident, and collecting a caterpillar at the same time. Changes have been recommended for the future, but the only immediate impact was to require the tyre manufacturers to take full wets to future races.

Silly Season: Kicking Off

The opening gambit for Ralf Schumacher's re-signing took place, with rumours he was off the Toyota spreading through the paddock. Similarly, speculation on Antonio Pizzonia's pending departure was also going the rounds, with few believing he would see out the year unless his performance significantly improved.

BAR Tap Honda

Honda's latest engine incarnation surprised many people by delivering as promised, permitting BAR to put in to effect a solid development program, based around faith in the manufacturer's ability to continue delivering on target. Major medium term upgrades were planned and actually released for Monaco – where Jenson Button was storming along until his infamous accident – and Canada. The season development plan stayed on target well enough to finally deliver fifth overall.

Renault Stalking Race Win

Although the target of third overall proved too much for Renault, the team illustrated its car was going to be surprisingly competitive at most of the circuits, though they were really looking forward to Monaco and Hungary, which both leverage excellent handling and aerodynamics, without penalising for relatively low power. In the event, Alonso went on to win in Hungary.

BMW Back-Pedal

When Williams won at Monaco, the circuit renowned for minimising an engine's contribution to the package, the rumours that BMW could be looking for a new partner abruptly stopped. With the leverage that 'learly' the rest of the car was up to the task of winning races, negotiations over extending the BMW contract turned really serious, and the deal was eventually unravelled for a partnership to the end of the decade.

Renault Fighting for Gascoyne

Having designed a surprisingly competitive car for Renault, Mike Gascoyne was in demand, leaving Renault increasingly struggling to fend off the interest. It proved to be a losing battle, with the technical guru's move to Toyota announced at the end of the year.

BAR Unhappy with Bridgestone

With Bridgestone concentrating on their prime contender, BAR, who considered themselves the second best team on that rubber, felt that decisions being made to help Ferrari were compromising their own ability to compete – even when the rubber was nominally on a par with Michelin. Successful negotiations for a switch in supplier became public in October...