Finding F1's X-Factor: How Peter Sauber does it

If Peter Sauber wasn't a team boss, he'd make a great X-Factor judge. Edd Straw finds out what makes the Swiss squad the perfect place for newbies like Sergio Perez to excel

Peter Sauber has a reputation as the most conservative of Formula 1 team bosses. Some characterise his squad's perennial mid-grid status (BMW era aside) as reflecting a lack of ambition; although others might point to its remarkable longevity, with only eight teams having survived for more races, as a sign of greater pragmatism than the average blink-and-they're-gone hopeful.

But one area where you could never legitimately accuse Sauber of an excess of conservatism is in driver selection. Sergio Perez's near-victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix in what was only his 19th F1 start was an unmistakable reminder of that.

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