New Sauber an evolution from livery down.

Sauber has followed the lead of many of its more experienced rivals in opting to refine the car that took its to its best ever Formula One finish in aiming to go one better in 2002.

According to the Swiss team, the C21 is a 'completely new car' that 'evolved' from the successful C20 of last season. The principal aim of the development programme - carried out under the auspices of technical director Willy Rampf and his team - has been to maintain the excellent consistency and performance of the C20, which took both Nick Heidfeld and Kimi Raikkonen to top ten championship finishes, while introducing obvious improvements to the 2002 machine,

As a result, the team focused on several areas, from aerodynamic to mechanical, in attempting to refine the Petronas-powered package. It managed to achieve an improvement in aerodynamic efficiency, not just in terms of the most favourable ratio of downforce against drag, but also in areas such as engine cooling.

At the same time, however, weight reduction, a lower centre of gravity, superior torsional rigidity and further optimisation of the engine and gearbox packaging were also priorities.

The design and development phase lasted from May to December. After that, the car was assembled and fired-up - on 12 January 2002 - right on schedule.

The rollout was carried out in Fiorano as in the two previous years. On this occasion, the first test kilometres were also completed. During the following three days' test session in Barcelona, various chassis and wing tuning work could be carried out, which was an impressive display of the C21's competitiveness.

The car continues to be powered by a Ferrari-inspired, Petronas-badged V10 and will again run on Bridgestone rubber.

The paint scheme remains reassuringly familiar, despite the supposedly reduced Red Bull backing in 2002. The car remains predominantly dark metallic blue, with the turquoise stripe of Petronas running along the flanks at sidepod level and onto the endplates of the front wing.

Credit Suisse retains its white presence on the nose and rear wing, despite the addition of Temenos to the leading edge of the front wing, as the team opts for its least altered livery in years.