Sauber C23
# Sauber C23

The Sauber C23 was a Formula One racing car designed by Sauber for the 2004 Formula One season.

The C23 was driven by Giancarlo Fisichella, who left his previous team Jordan to join Sauber. Felipe Massa, who was a regular driver for Sauber in 2002, returned to Sauber after spending a year as a test driver for Ferrari. Neel Jani was the team's test driver.

## Overview

The car was a direct evolution of the Sauber C22. For this purpose, Ferrari's car from the previous year, the Ferrari F2003-GA, was used as a model. In terms of design, care was taken to make the car lighter and more test than last year's car. For the first time, the Sauber car was equipped with the same Ferrari engine type as Ferrari itself and not, as before, with the respective previous year's engine. The engine was designated the Petronas 04A. The fuel also came from Petronas and the car raced with Bridgestone tyres.

The Sauber C23 was unveiled on January 12 in Salzburg at Hangar-7, Red Bull's owned aircraft hangar, to mark the 10th anniversary of Red Bull's sponsorship.

## Racing history

Giancarlo Fisichella scored the most championship points with 22 with a best finish of 4th place at the Canadian Grand Prix while Felipe Massa scored 12 points also with a best finish of 4th place at the Belgian Grand Prix. The team scored 34 points overall and 6th place in the Constructors' Championship.

## Sponsorship and livery

Sauber went into 2004 with sponsorship continuity. The livery closely resembles Sauber's previous car, the C22 with the removal of computer software company TEMENOS. The C23 was the last Sauber car featuring sponsorship from Austrian energy drink Red Bull, before Red Bull's departure to Red Bull Racing in 2005. The following Sauber C24 featured Credit Suisse as major sponsor.

## Complete Formula One results

(key)

| Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Points | WCC |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2004 | Sauber Petronas | Petronas V10* | B | | AUS | MAL | BHR | SMR | ESP | MON | EUR | CAN | USA | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | CHN | JPN | BRA | 34 | 6th |
| 2004 | Sauber Petronas | Petronas V10* | B | Giancarlo Fisichella | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 7 | Ret | 6 | 4 | $9^†$ | 12 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 34 | 6th |
| 2004 | Sauber Petronas | Petronas V10* | B | Felipe Massa | Ret | 8 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 9 | Ret | Ret | 13 | 9 | 13 | Ret | 4 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 34 | 6th |

* Denotes Ferrari engine badged as Petronas.
