Vasseur says Sauber-Ferrari deal does not involve drivers

New Sauber team principal Frederic Vasseur says that Sauber's newly formed deal with Ferrari does not involve drivers for the 2018 season. Earlier this week, the Swiss squad announced it had cancelled its deal with Honda, who was set to supply the team with engines in 2018.

Instead, it committed its future to Ferrari, continuing its partnership that has lasted 20 years. Prior to the cancellation of the Honda deal, Sauber confirmed that Formula 2 racer Nobuharu Matsushita, who is backed by Honda, would get a test outing next week,

Despite the announcement that the deal was not going to go ahead, Vasseur confirmed that the Japanese driver would still receive his test in the C36: "We made this commitment to Honda a couple of months ago so we will keep our promise to them and to Matsushita."

There is ongoing speculation over who will drive the 2018 Sauber. With the team's new financial backers having links to Marcus Ericsson, it is likely the Swede will stay at the team. However, it is possible that Pascal Whrlein could be replaced by either Antonio Giovinazzi or Charles Leclerc, who are both Ferrari juniors.

"It's too early to discuss the drivers," Vasseur insisted. "We only signed the (Ferrari) agreement on Thursday, and the drivers are not part of the contract. We will talk about the drivers in the next weeks," he added.

Fergal Walsh