Sauber C12
Formula One racing car
title: "Sauber C12" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1993-formula-one-season-cars", "sauber-formula-one-cars"] description: "Formula One racing car" topic_path: "general/1993-formula-one-season-cars" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauber_C12" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Formula One racing car ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox racing car"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Car_name | Sauber C12 |
| Image | [[File:Karl Wendlinger - Sauber C12 during practice for the 1993 British Grand Prix (33302730550).jpg |
| Caption | Karl Wendlinger driving the C12 at Silverstone. |
| Category | Formula One |
| Constructor | Sauber |
| Designer | Harvey Postlethwaite (Technical Director) |
| Leo Ress (Chief Designer) | |
| Mike Gascoyne (Head of Aerodynamics) | |
| Mario Illien (Chief Engine Designer, Ilmor) | |
| Successor | Sauber C13 |
| Team | Team Sauber Formula 1 |
| Drivers | 29. AUT Karl Wendlinger |
- FIN JJ Lehto | | Technical ref | | | Chassis | Carbon fibre monocoque | | Front suspension | Double wishbones, pushrod | | Rear suspension | Double wishbones, pushrod | | Wheelbase | 2930 mm | | Track | Front: 1690 mm Rear: 1610 mm | | Engine name | Ilmor 2175A, | | Capacity | 3496 cc, | | Configuration | 75° V10, | | Turbo/NA | NA, | | Engine position | mid-engine, longitudinally mounted | | Gearbox name | Sauber / XTrac T | | Gears | 6-speed | | Type | semi-automatic | | Fuel | Elf | | Lubricants | Liqui Moly | | Tyres | Goodyear | | Weight | 505 kg | | Debut | 1993 South African Grand Prix | | Last_event | 1993 Australian Grand Prix | | Races | 16 | | Wins | 0 | | Cons_champ | 0 | | Drivers_champ | 0 | | Poles | 0 | | Fastest_laps | 0 | ::
| Car_name = Sauber C12 | Image = [[File:Karl Wendlinger - Sauber C12 during practice for the 1993 British Grand Prix (33302730550).jpg|275px|Sauber C12]] | Caption = Karl Wendlinger driving the C12 at Silverstone. | Category = Formula One | Constructor = Sauber | Designer = Harvey Postlethwaite (Technical Director) Leo Ress (Chief Designer) Mike Gascoyne (Head of Aerodynamics) Mario Illien (Chief Engine Designer, Ilmor) | Successor = Sauber C13 | Team = Team Sauber Formula 1 | Drivers = 29. AUT Karl Wendlinger 30. FIN JJ Lehto | Technical ref = | Chassis = Carbon fibre monocoque | Front suspension = Double wishbones, pushrod | Rear suspension = Double wishbones, pushrod | Wheelbase = 2930 mm | Track = Front: 1690 mm Rear: 1610 mm | Engine name = Ilmor 2175A, | Capacity = 3496 cc, | Configuration = 75° V10, | Turbo/NA = NA, | Engine position = mid-engine, longitudinally mounted | Gearbox name = Sauber / XTrac T | Gears = 6-speed | Type = semi-automatic | Differential = | Fuel = Elf | Lubricants = Liqui Moly | Tyres = Goodyear | Weight = 505 kg | Debut = 1993 South African Grand Prix |Last_event=1993 Australian Grand Prix | Races = 16 | Wins = 0 | Cons_champ = 0 | Drivers_champ = 0 | Poles = 0 | Fastest_laps = 0 |}}
The Sauber C12 was the car with which the Sauber Formula One team made its FIA Formula One World Championship debut in 1993. Its design was led by Leo Ress.
Overview
Engine
Power was provided by a Sauber-branded 3.5-litre V10 built by Ilmor in partnership with Mercedes. The C12 was given the prominence of "Concept by Mercedes-Benz" stickers on the engine cowling due to the two parties' close relationship from their World Sportscar Championship program. The engines were re-branded in 1994 to reflect the partnership.
Drivers
Karl Wendlinger was re-united with his former WSC team in preparation for its Grand Prix debut. He already had two seasons of Formula One experience, having made his debut in the 1991 Japanese Grand Prix with Leyton House, while JJ Lehto (Jyrki Järvilehto) had started 38 Grands Prix (not including failures to qualify) between 1989 and 1992.
Racing history
Lehto contributed to a promising start with a 5th-place finish in the South African GP at Kyalami and improved on that with a 4th place classification at Imola, home of the San Marino GP, despite an engine problem.
The C12 had a somewhat mixed record with a total of 12 DNFs due to mechanical failure, including seven engine failures (not including Imola, where Lehto was classified as a finisher). Driver-related incidents accounted for six more DNFs.
The C12 achieved six points finishes and eight non-scoring finishes from 32 starts. It achieved a points total of 12 and 7th place in the Constructors' World Championship standings.
It was replaced at the start of the season by the Sauber C13.
Livery
The C12 sported a black livery, reminiscent of the C9 Group C prototype sportscar from 1987.
Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position) ::data[format=table]
| Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Sauber Formula 1 | SauberV10 | RSA | BRA | EUR | SMR | ESP | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | POR | JPN | AUS | 12 | 7th | |||
| AUT Karl Wendlinger | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 13 | 6 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 6 | Ret | 4 | 5 | Ret | 15 | ||||||
| FIN JJ Lehto | 5 | Ret | Ret | 4 | Ret | Ret | 7 | Ret | 8 | Ret | Ret | 9 | Ret | 7 | 8 | Ret | ||||||
| :: |
References
References
- "Sauber C12 • STATS F1".
- "Sauber - Entrant".
- Cooper, Adam. (14 March 2023). "Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise". [[Autosport]].
- "Participations • Sauber C12".
- "Engine Sauber • STATS F1".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::