Sauber Formula 1 Team Principal Fred Vasseur "wasted no time in pulling the plug" on a proposed F1 engine deal with Honda -- ending talks just one hour after taking the helm of the Swiss team, according to Sam Hall of AUTOWEEK. Former Renault Team Principal Vasseur was "so certain that switching to Honda power would be a mistake" that he made the decision to step back from the deal before he had even stepped into his new office. Vasseur: "I joined on July 17 at 9am, and the meeting was at 10am. For me, it was important. It is never easy to change the engine supplier first, but Honda was not in a very good shape. Plus, and probably most important for me, was that we were linked to McLaren for the gearbox with absolutely no internal resources to do our own one." Sauber raced with Ferrari power in '17, but the unit used was a '16 edition. However, a "link up" with Alfa Romeo -- which along with Ferrari is part of the Fiat Portfolio -- led to Ferrari agreeing to supply up-to-date units and "renewed hope for an upturn in form." However, Vasseur was "quick to point out" that Sauber has no intentions on becoming a development team for Ferrari. Vasseur: "What people call us doesn't matter. Nobody is taking care of whether we are a junior or a customer" (AUTOWEEK, 1/24).
