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Peter Sauber has pointed a finger at F1's governing body as the Swiss team rues the loss of millions in income.
The Sauber team was, at the end of the 2011 season, happy to have beaten Toro Rosso for seventh in the Constructors' World championship but, founder and boss Peter Sauber wrote in a column for the Swiss newspaper Blick, "for all the joy we have not forgotten that we wanted more.
"Mid-season, we were solidly in position six but we soon fell behind Force India. The reason was the blown diffuser and the so-called 'off-throttle' blowing',".
DEVELOPMENT STOPPED
He said the team would have earned considerably more income for sixth in the standings; he was referring to the mid-season controversy that saw the FIA ban the technology - then re-allow it.
"We stopped development after the FIA announced the ban," Sauber wrote. "That was a mistake because the FIA went back and bizarrely allowed this technology again. It got us badly on the defensive into the second half of the season. Those with the systems optimised their advantage, achieving much more than a second a lap."
The issue was settled for 2012: a comprehensive ban.
"Other than that, the rule changes (for 2012) are moderate," Sauber acknowledged, "so our (2012 car) C31 will not be a revolution but rather a targeted evolution, albeit with numerous changes."
The Sauber team was, at the end of the 2011 season, happy to have beaten Toro Rosso for seventh in the Constructors' World championship but, founder and boss Peter Sauber wrote in a column for the Swiss newspaper Blick, "for all the joy we have not forgotten that we wanted more.
"Mid-season, we were solidly in position six but we soon fell behind Force India. The reason was the blown diffuser and the so-called 'off-throttle' blowing',".
DEVELOPMENT STOPPED
He said the team would have earned considerably more income for sixth in the standings; he was referring to the mid-season controversy that saw the FIA ban the technology - then re-allow it.
"We stopped development after the FIA announced the ban," Sauber wrote. "That was a mistake because the FIA went back and bizarrely allowed this technology again. It got us badly on the defensive into the second half of the season. Those with the systems optimised their advantage, achieving much more than a second a lap."
The issue was settled for 2012: a comprehensive ban.
"Other than that, the rule changes (for 2012) are moderate," Sauber acknowledged, "so our (2012 car) C31 will not be a revolution but rather a targeted evolution, albeit with numerous changes."