Mercedes-Benz had planed to enter Formula One with Sauber. They could not work out all the details, so Mercedes withdrew their formal support. Mercedes continued to fund Sauber's Formula One project unofficially. The Sauber team was powered by V10 Ilmor engines in a chassis named the C12. This continued the Sauber's naming policy from the sports car days. The 'C' was a reference to Peter Sauber's wife, Christine. The cars were driven by JJ Lehto and Karl Wendlinger.