Sauber confirm Ferrari engines for 2005.

Sauber technical director Willy Rampf has confirmed that the Swiss team will continue to use Ferrari engines for next season.

The team has used the Italian engines, rebadged as Petronas powerplants, for the past eight seasons and Rampf believes that it made sense to continue the relationship.

"In the coming year we will be using engines Ferrari are making on behalf of our partner Petronas," he said. "Overall, we are very satisfied with the engines supplied by Ferrari, which means that it absolutely makes sense for us to continue this cooperation. In 2005 it will be entering its ninth year already. Especially in the field of engineering, continuity is very important."

Work is already underway on the new C24 car that the team will use in 2005, the first one that the team has developed in its new state of the art wind tunnel. Sauber invested approximately US$55m in the new state of the art facility and Rampf feels it will help the team develop the new car.

"Work on the Sauber Petronas C24 is already in full swing," he said. "In the middle of May we had the first concept meeting, and in July we started the actual design.

"We are working with the same people who have been with us for a long time, but now the new wind tunnel has given them the right tool to work with. In the past, we were lacking this most critical piece of the puzzle. Our aerodynamicists in particular were often the target of unjustified criticism and that fact, now, serves as a special source of motivation for them. They have some very interesting ideas for the new car which we are reviewing at the moment.

"I have full confidence in our engineers, and I am convinced that the Sauber Petronas C24 will be competitive. The C24 will be the first Sauber race car to be developed completely in the new wind tunnel. This fact makes it a very special car for us."

Rampf also confirmed that the 2005 car would not be using the Ferrari gearbox again next season.

"This year's solution has been an exception," he said. "All of our former cars, from the C12 to the C22, were always fitted with Sauber gearboxes. Our specialists have already started to work on the new gearbox for the C24."