Sauber must now turn its attention to designing a much better car for next season.
That was the assessment of team owner and boss Peter Sauber in the wake of last weekend’s Canadian grand prix.
After an uncompetitive and unreliable start to the post-BMW period this year, there had been signs of a recovery until Montreal, where the C29 was faster only than the three new teams.
"We are only able to tinker with this car," Sauber, 66, is quoted as saying by the veteran Blick correspondent Roger Benoit.
"It was an unpleasant parting gift from BMW and Willy Rampf," he added. "All our hopes rest now with the C30 for next year."
Pedro de la Rosa has already confirmed he is on the market for a job for 2011, while the Japanese rookie Kamui Kobayashi has also been unconvincing.
Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport gave the 23-year-old a "1 out of 10" for the Canada weekend, after almost being outqualified by a Lotus and then crashing on the first lap.
"Kamui came into my office and apologised immediately," Sauber revealed. "Okay, that is the price one pays if one goes to the line with a rookie."