The Swiss team has elected to run a year-old specification engine in the hope of capitalising on a well understood platform to score early points in the campaign.

But indications from pre-season testing and the Australian Grand Prix suggest that things may be harder than Sauber anticipated, with the team appearing to be behind in power terms thanks to the progress that has been made with the 2017 engines.

The situation could prompt Sauber to have second thoughts about its engine decision, but team principal Monisha Kaltenborn has said that the team is committed to seeing out the year with the 2016 version.

When asked if the team could fit the 2017 engine later in the season, she said: "No. That we knew."

She clarified that the change in dimensions of the 2017 Ferrari engine mean it cannot be fitted into the current Sauber car.

Kaltenborn wants to see more from the relative engine performance at different tracks before judging exactly how Sauber's engine compares.

"I think it's far too early to say because Australia is definitely not a representative track. We need to wait a couple of races, and then we'll see how big it [the gap] really is," she added.

Wanted more

Kaltenborn did concede, however, that she had been expecting a better start to the campaign – although thinks there remains a good opportunity for progress still.

"We hoped we were a bit better, because we've been following some new concepts," she explained.

"Of course others started earlier, they have understood after the tests where they need to do a few changes. But otherwise I think the basis is there.

"We need to develop that now, and we have a development plan in place. We have bits and pieces coming here, and then we have an intense testing programme in Bahrain. We are planning a bigger package in Barcelona and then we'll take it from there."