Sauber rescue deal worth $170 million

After having reported yesterday about the deal between Sauber and Russian parties, the boss Monisha Kaltenborn has clarified on reports that were stating that the company has been bought by Russian parties.

Italy’s Autosprint has quotes Kaltenborn as insisting that, “The team has not been sold.” Speed Week reported that Sauber’s existing structure, with Kaltenborn and founder Peter Sauber at the decision-making helm, is also not changing and remains the same.

The Swiss portal 20 Minuten has further said that the Russian investment in Sauber amounts to a whopping $ 170 million, clearing the team’s debts and paying unhappy suppliers. But there have been questions that have been raised on from where the funds would be coming from in to the company. In fact, some reports state that the entities listed in the Sauber press release are little more than shell organisations, and are closely linked to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

However, a source is quoted by the Swiss newspaper Blick that it doesn’t matter where the money comes from but what is important is that it comes as Sauber is in dire need of the funds to pay of its debts and suppliers including mighty Ferrari and to survive in the market.