The question is why - and it is far from certain that Sauber will know the answer. Traditionally, each Sauber season always follows the same pattern. The Swiss outfit start with high hopes of moving up the grid, but remain mired where they always were - the archetypal midfield team, never looking likely to be anything else.

Not this year, though. The new car proved quick out of the box - as most Saubers are - but unusually it maintained its form.

That allowed drivers Nick Heidfeld and the astonishing debutant Kimi Raikkonen to embarrass a number of teams that Sauber by rights should not be anywhere near.

The initial conclusion is that Sauber did an excellent job on its car, but that is not the story that came out from the team.

Instead, they believe that it is the drivers who made the difference. Heidfeld, after all, was a close rival of Williams new boy Juan Pablo Montoya in Formula 3000, and Raikkonen was arguably the most impressive newcomer of the year, considering his experience.

It seems unlikely that this is the start of a major charge from Sauber to the front of the grid. They lack the resources, the location and probably the will for that.