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| Formerly | PP Sauber AG Red Bull Sauber AG BMW Sauber AG[1] |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Motorsport |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Founder | Peter Sauber |
| Defunct | 7 December 2025 (2025-12-07) |
| Fate | Acquired byAudi in 2024, subsequently became its factory team inFormula One from 2026 onwards |
| Successor | Audi Motorsport AG |
| Headquarters | Hinwil,canton of Zürich, Switzerland |
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| Owners | |
Sauber Motorsport AG was a Swissmotorsport engineering company and race team. Founded byPeter Sauber asPP Sauber AG in 1970, the team producedsports cars and laterFormula One race cars as anindependent constructor. In endurance racing, the team achieved two world championships and overall victory at the1989 24 Hours of Le Mans withMercedes-Benz. After entering Formula One in 1993, the team transformed multiple times but exited the sport in 2025 as the fourth-oldest constructor in history by races started. The team and its assets were acquired byAudi AG in 2024 to form the chassis construction and sporting basis of theAudi F1 Team.
Each of the team's cars, with the exception of cars built by BMW Sauber, were designated a number proceeded by the letter C to honor Peter Sauber's wife, Christiane. Starting with theC1, which was built in his parent's garage, Sauber's early cars competed in local Swiss championships. The team debuted inFIA competition with theSauber C5, which competed in the1977 24 Hour of Le Mans. Its most successful sports car, theSauber C9, won two consecutive world endurance championships and brought Mercedes back to theWorld Sportscar Championship asTeam Sauber Mercedes.
AfterGroup C endurance regulations ended, the team entered Formula One independently despite a failed attempt to build a joint project with Mercedes. From 1993 to 2005 the team operated as a private constructor, becoming well known for introducing young talent includingHeinz Harald-Frentzen,Kimi Räikkönen, andFelipe Massa. Sauber also pioneered many technological innovations which later became standards, such as high cockpit side walls, longitudinally-mounted gearboxes, and the twin keel front suspension.
Sauber was purchased byBMW in 2005 and raced asBMW Sauber F1 Team from 2006 to 2009. The team achieved its best Formula One results during this period, most notably winning the2008 Canadian Grand Prix and finishing second in the2007 World Constructor's Championship. However, theglobal financial crisis forced BMW to sell the team after the 2009 season, after which Peter Sauber reacquired his eponymous team for one euro.[6]
As an independent constructor again from 2010 to 2025, the team purchased customerFerrari power but struggled financially. Peter Sauber sold his controlling stake in the team toFinn Rausing in 2016,[7] who reorganized the team's leadership and cancelled the team's confirmed engine switch toHonda. In 2018 the team signed a title sponsorship agreement withAlfa Romeo, and Sauber raced asAlfa Romeo Racing and later asAlfa Romeo F1 Team until 2023. The team was purchased by Audi AG in 2024 with the intention of transforming Sauber into Audi'smanufacturer entry for 2026.[8] In its final two seasons, the team competed asStake F1 Team Kick Sauber orKick Sauber based on local gambling sponsorship laws.
Peter Sauber built theC1 in his parent's garage to compete in the 1970 Swiss Sports Car Championship.[9][10] The open-cockpit tubular chassis was powered by a 1.0LCosworth engine. TheC2 iterated on this original design, increasing engine power to 1.6L and taking Sauber's first three race wins in domestic hillclimbing. The 2.0L Cosworth-poweredC4 introduced Sauber to continental competition, winning one race in the 1975European 2-Litre Sportscar Championship. TheC5 was designed for the step up toLe Mans for 1977, and it led theGroup 6 class before retiring in both 1977 and 1978. The C5 did deliver Sauber's first championship, however, winning the 1976Interserie Championship with Swiss driverHerbert Müller.
After a one year racing hiatus as aLolaF2 chassis builder, Sauber entered two cars in the1980 BMW M1 Procar Championship. At the time, Procar supported Formula One race weekends during the European season and enabled BMW's embattledM1 cars to race despiteGroup 5homologation issues. Sauber was moderately successful in Procar, achieving three consecutive pole positions withMarc Surer andManfred Schurti in the middle of the season. When the series folded after 1980, Sauber heavily modified its cars to comply with the more powerful Group 5 regulations. With a radically redesigned frame and substantially less weight, the BMW M1 Sauber won the 1981Nürburgring 1000km withHans-Joachim Stuck andNelson Piquet.[11]
Sauber then stepped up to Group C prototype racing, which replaced Group 5 as the highest category of endurance racing in the World Sportscar Championship. The team's first top-category prototype, theSauber SHS C6, was designed in partnership with Swiss firm Seger & Hoffmann. The car's distinctive 'whale tail' rear wing and theBMW M88 power unit delivered Sauber a fifth place finish in the1982 World Sportscar Championship for Manufacturers, after which the two chassis were retired and sold. TheC7 was built as an iteration of the SHS C6, debuting at the1983 24 Hours of Le Mans and finishing ninth overall. The C7 famously disruptedPorsche's otherwise undisputed top-ten dominance in the overall standings with thePorsche 956, which later became immortalized in Porsche's 'Nobody's perfect' advertisement.[12]
After Mercedes-Benz expressed an interest in returning to sports car racing, Sauber quickly retired the BMW-powered C7 and adapted the chassis to take theMercedes M117turbochargedV8 power unit. Under an engine supplier partnership, the team raced theSauber C8 asKouros Racing Team under a title sponsorship deal withYves Saint-Laurent. In 1985 the team failed to finish at Le Mans, but the C8 won the 1986 Nürburgring 1000km withHenri Pescarolo andMike Thackwell in front of Mercedes executives. TheC9 was built around the upgradedMercedes M119HL engine and raced for Sauber/Kouros in 1987, where it struggled with reliability but set a Le Mans lap record withJohnny Dumfries behind the wheel. In 1988 Mercedes finally gave the project full factory support and the team became known asTeam Sauber Mercedes.
Under the leadership ofJochen Neerpash andMax Welti as team directors, and with Mercedes subdivisionAEG-Olympia as the new primary sponsor, the C9s took five wins in the1988 World Sportscar Championship.Jean-Louis Schlesser,Jochen Mass, andMauro Baldi drove C9 No. 61 to victory in the season-opening800km of Jerez, but the team finished second in the championship in a strong fight againstJaguar and itsXJR-9. Unfortunately, the team lost its most points when it was forced to withdraw its two cars from the1988 24 Hours of Le Mans on safety grounds after two high-speed tyre blowouts in practice.
Sauber dominated the1989 World Sportscar Championship, winning all but one race and winning the World Sports Prototype Championship for Teams with nearly double the points of second-placedJoest Racing. Jean-Louis Schlesser won the driver's championship with five wins and led a Team Sauber Mercedes top-four lockout of the driver's standings. At Le Mans, Sauber locked out the front row and finished first, second, and fifth overall. TheC11 was due to replace the C9 for the following season, but a longer development timeline required it to race the season opener for 1990. After a one-two finish proved the car's continued dominance, the C9 was finally retired.
In 1990, the team switched its race numbers from Nos. 61 and 62 to Nos. 1 and 2 on account of the previous year's success. Longtime team leaderBeat Zehnder worked with Mercedes to introduce a Junior Team for 1990, and Sauber signed young drivers includingMichael Schumacher,Karl Wendlinger, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen to drive the No. 2 car for the new season. Sauber dominated the championship again in 1990, winning all but one race for a second consecutive season and winning the1990 Team's World Championship with over double the points ofSilk Cut Jaguar. Jean-Louis Schlesser defended his driver's crown and was named co-champion on equal points with teammate Mauro Baldi. The junior drivers won two races in 1990, with Wendlinger joining Jochen Mass to win atSpa-Francorchamps and a season finale win for Schumacher atMexico City. Notably, the team chose not to contest Le Mans in 1990 because it was designated a non-championship race for the World Sports Prototype Championship.
Sauber-Mercedes struggled to adapt to Group C's regulation changes for 1991, which abolished the existing engine rules and mandated 3.5L Formula One-style engines. The newC291 took the bespokeMercedes M291flat-12 engine, but it struggled heavily with reliability issues and raced alongside the prior year's C11 for much of the season. The team won only one race in 1991, slipping to a distant third in the team's championship as Jaguar returned to power. The team pushed ahead with a radical aerodynamic redesign for 1992 with theC292, but Mercedes pulled its support for the team on financial grounds during testing. The stillborn C292 never raced and Sauber withdrew its entry for the season. It remains unclear how many C292 chassis were produced and how many examples survive today.
Sauber intended to pivot to Formula One in direct collaboration with Mercedes, but this joint project was shelved Mercedes funded Sauber's first engine contract instead. The team re-brandedIlmorV10 engines as Sauber power units, and the newSauber C12 spent most of 1992 testing across Europe atLurcy-Levis,Barcelona-Catalunya, and even an airfield inZweisimmen. The team signed experienced Formula One driverJJ Lehto to partner former Sauber endurance driver Karl Wendlinger for the 1993 season.
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On debut at the1993 South African Grand Prix, Lehto qualified in sixth position and finished in fifth ahead ofGerhard Berger's Ferrari, achieving two points on debut in a race of attrition. The team struggled with engine reliability during the rest of the season but impressive points finishes atSan Marino,Montreal, andMonza prompted Mercedes to place "concept by Mercedes-Benz" stickers on the engine cover of Sauber's cars for the remainder of the season. A seventh place finish in the 1993 World Constructors' Championship, ahead of independents includingMinardi andJordan, established Sauber as a credible entrant in an era of small and questionable back-marker teams.
Mercedes joined the team as an official component in 1994, but the newly-renamed Sauber-Mercedes regressed to eighth in the championship amid struggles with Mercedes-branded Ilmor 3.5L V10 engines. New entrantPacific Grand Prix received a customer supply of Sauber's older-specification engines from the previous season, but the team faced financial woes after title sponsor Broker was found to be fraudulent and did not pay its sponsorship obligations. To make matters worse, Wendlinger was seriously injured after a practice crash at theMonaco Grand Prix, which left him in a coma and requiredAndrea de Cesaris to step in as a relief driver. Sauber re-engineered its cars with high cockpit side walls after the crash, which later became mandatory in the wake of Wendlinger's crash and the deaths ofAyrton Senna andRoland Ratzenberger earlier that season.
With the same points tally as the previous year, Mercedes left the team at the end of the year and joinedMcLaren after it terminated its existing deal withPeugeot. As a result, Sauber inheritedBenetton's works engine deal withFord for 1995 after it switched toRenault power for the following season.
In conjunction with the Ford deal, Sauber signed a ten-year sponsorship deal with energy drink companyRed Bull. EntrepreneurDietrich Mateschitz purchased a majority share in the team andFritz Kaiser joined as Sauber's new commercial director.[13] Karl Wendlinger returned to the team alongside Heinz-Harald Frentzen, but Wendlinger was sacked in favor ofJean-Cristophe Bouillon after just four races. Frentzen led the team to its largest F1 tally with eighteen points and scored the team's first podium at the1995 Italian Grand Prix with a third place finish. 1995 also marked the start of the team's long association withPetronas, who joined mid-season and later became a presenting sponsor until 2009.
In 1996, the team regressed as it struggled with the uncompetitiveness of the new V10Cosworth JD engine. Despite again holding seventh spot on a shrinking list of constructors, they scored only eleven points but finished third withJohnny Herbert at the1996 Monaco Grand Prix. For the next season they announced a customer deal to receive Ferrari engines while working with new sponsors Petronas to bring licensing and manufacturing in-house.
From 1997 until 2005 Sauber used Ferrari designed customer engines and gearboxes built bySauber Petronas Engineering, a company founded for the sole purpose of building these engines. Sauber licensed nearly every legally licensable part from Ferrari and even had several Ferrari engineers on staff. The first podium for Sauber-Petronas came at the1997 Hungarian Grand Prix with a third place finish, and a podium followed the next season with third at the1998 Belgian Grand Prix. However, the team struggled in the lower midfield throughout 1999 and 2000 and achieved only six points at the turn of the millennium.
In 2001, Sauber brought a virtually unknown and very inexperiencedKimi Räikkönen into Formula One, despite the protests of a few drivers and influential members of the FIA, includingMax Mosley, that he would pose a danger to other drivers. His performances that year, however, more than vindicated their decision (he would later go on to win the 2007 Drivers' Championship withFerrari). It also causedRed Bull to sell their majority share in the team toCredit Suisse in protest (Red Bull wantedEnrique Bernoldi to take the seat but he wound up atArrows). In 2004, Sauber spent a large sum of money on a newwind tunnel atHinwil, and a high performancesupercomputer (calledAlbert) to help refine the aerodynamics of their cars. The state-of-the-art infrastructure Sauber has built up is one aspect that attractedBMW Motorsport to Sauber.
In its later years, Sauber's links with Ferrari became weaker. They sided with the non-Ferrari teams over planned rule changes at the end of the 2004 season and also joined theGPWC. Then they decided to switch toMichelin tyres, while Ferrari continued to useBridgestone tyres. Sauber had secured a deal with BMW for a supply of their engines from 2006, initially expected to be on a customer relationship but following BMW's decision to split from Williams at the end of 2005, BMW agreed to take ownership of the team from 1 January 2006, having bought Credit Suisse's shares in the team and thusRed Bull Racing took over Ferrari customer engine partnership. Sauber's final Grand Prix before BMW takeover was the2005 Chinese Grand Prix, with Massa, in his final race for the team having been promoted to Ferrari for the 2006 season, scoring a welcome sixth place to round off the team's history. Sauber had finished its independent run in F1 with six third places and two front-row starts being their best results. Among notable Sauber drivers wereJean Alesi, 2008 Drivers' Championship runner-upFelipe Massa,Johnny Herbert, and 1997 World ChampionJacques Villeneuve. Two former Sauber drivers drove for the newBMW Sauber team in 2006:Nick Heidfeld who was a Sauber driver from 2001 to 2003, and Villeneuve who drove for the team in 2005.
At the end of the2005 season, the team's majority shareholding previously owned byCredit Suisse was bought byBMW, with Peter Sauber retaining a 20% stake, and was renamedBMW Sauber. BMW sold its part back to Peter Sauber after the end of the2009 season, but the team formally used the nameBMW Sauber until the end of the2010 season. The team held aGerman licence from2006 to2009, then reverted to a Swiss licence in2010.[14]
For the2006 season the team re-signed Nick Heidfeld fromWilliams to be their lead driver (Heidfeld drove for Sauber in 2001–2003), while 1997 World ChampionJacques Villeneuve had his existing Sauber contract confirmed. PoleRobert Kubica was signed as the team'sthird driver. The team continued to use Sauber's facilities, mostly for chassis construction and wind tunnel testing, while BMW's headquarters in Munich were responsible for building the new P86 V8 engine.
Former Sauber title sponsorPetronas renewed their contract with the new team after BMW Sauber snubbedBP-Castrol, despite them being BMW's official commercial gasoline and motor oil partner.Credit Suisse also continued their sponsorship. For the new season BMW Sauber announced a technical partnership withIntel andO2, claiming that it will eventually lead to technological improvements available on BMW road cars.[15]
The new livery, unveiled in Valencia on 17 January 2006, was the traditionalBMW M blue and white with red flashes.
Jacques Villeneuve scored the team's first points with a seventh-place finish at the2006 Malaysian Grand Prix, after Heidfeld retired from fifth with an engine failure late in the race. Over the first two-thirds of the season the drivers picked up points with a succession of seventh- and eighth-place finishes.
The team ran a radical "twin towers" aero enhancement on the front of the car for the race in Magny-Cours, France, which was meant to direct airflow to the rear and thus improve performance.[16] This unconventional add-on was promptly banned by the FIA as it was adjudged to impede the drivers' vision and thus compromise safety.[17]
Heidfeld scored the team's first podium at the2006 Hungarian Grand Prix from tenth on the grid. Kubica stood in for Villeneuve, BMW stating that Villeneuve could not drive due to medical complications following his accident at theGerman Grand Prix. Kubica finished seventh, although he was later disqualified for an underweight car.[18] After the Hungarian Grand Prix, BMW announced that Kubica would complete the season for the Swiss team, spelling the end of former world champion Villeneuve's F1 career.[19]
Kubica scored BMW Sauber's second podium of the season at theItalian Grand Prix, after running in third place for most of the race and leading briefly during the first round of pit stops. Heidfeld struggled in the race and barely earned a point by finishing eighth. The team's fifth place in the Constructors' Championship was cemented by Heidfeld's two further points at the2006 Chinese Grand Prix, andToyota's early double retirement from the2006 Brazilian Grand Prix.
On 19 October 2006, it was announced that Robert Kubica would partner Nick Heidfeld for the2007 season with Sebastian Vettel taking the test and reserve driver role. On 21 December, it was announced thatTimo Glock had been signed as the team's second test driver.[20] The team launched their 2007 car, theF1.07, on 16 January 2007.[21]
The new car showed promising form throughout the winter testing, topping the times sheets on occasions. However, team principalMario Theissen declared some reliability concerns before the season's opening race inMelbourne. Kubica duly retired from fourth place mid-race withgearbox trouble, but Nick Heidfeld proved their pace in winter testing was no fluke as he raced to fourth place. Heidfeld continued this success with two more fourth places in Malaysia and Bahrain respectively. Kubica finished sixth in Bahrain after retiring in Australia and mechanical trouble in Malaysia.
Their performance thus far had been such that many were saying a race win was likely after firmly establishing themselves as the best team behind championship leadersFerrari andMcLaren. Although the perceived performance gap between the two leaders and BMW Sauber was a fair amount, it was still less than that between BMW Sauber and the teams behind them.[22]
TheCanadian Grand Prix brought mixed fortunes for the team. While Nick Heidfeld scored a second-place finish, Robert Kubica suffered a huge crash that resulted in a long safety car period. The media was initially told Kubica had broken his leg, but it later emerged that he had escaped with only a sprained ankle and concussion.[23]
Sebastian Vettel took his place in theUS Grand Prix, finishing in eighth place and therefore becoming the youngest driver to score a Formula One World Championship point. After theEuropean GP, however, it was announced byScuderia Toro Rosso that Vettel would take the second driver seat fromScott Speed.
On 21 August 2007, BMW confirmed its driver line-up of Heidfeld and Kubica for the2008 season.[24]Their 2008 car, theF1.08 was officially launched inMunich at BMW Welt on 14 January 2008. It made its track debut at Valencia the next day, with Robert Kubica driving.
The BMW Sauber team also introduced a new scheme for the team as a whole, with every individual getting "fit for pole",[25] from the boss to the cleaners, meaning that the team would be in optimum fitness for the 2008 season. Team principal Mario Theissen targeted the team's first Formula 1 victory for 2008.
BMW Sauber started the season well with Kubica narrowly missing out on pole after a mistake in his main qualifying lap inMelbourne. He later retired after being hit byKazuki Nakajima but Heidfeld finished second. Kubica took second inMalaysia, with Heidfeld in sixth setting the fastest lap of the race. The team's points total of 11 was their largest score up to that time. InBahrain, Kubica scored his and the team's first ever pole position, beatingFelipe Massa by just under three hundredths of a second. The team went on to finish third and fourth in the race, equalling their highest round points total and promoting them to first place in the Constructors' Championship for the first time.
The team also attained a second-place finish in theMonaco Grand Prix with Robert Kubica, beating both Ferraris and only trailing theMcLaren ofLewis Hamilton by three seconds.
BMW Sauber's first race victory came in the2008 Canadian Grand Prix, the team achieving a one-two finish with Robert Kubica's first race win and Nick Heidfeld taking second place. The victory came after Lewis Hamilton collided with Kimi Räikkönen in the pitlane, ending the race for both drivers. Kubica was on a different refuelling strategy from Heidfeld, who also briefly led the race before securing the one-two finish for BMW Sauber in comfortable fashion. This was the first Formula One victory for a BMW engine since the2004 Brazilian Grand Prix.
After the team's breakthrough win, development was switched to the 2009 season where new regulations come into play. This greatly annoyed Kubica, (who was leading the championship after the Canadian Grand Prix), as he felt they could have had a realistic chance of taking at least one title. The lack of development was reflected with a drop of form throughout the second half of the season, causing BMW to be outpaced by Renault, Toyota and even Toro Rosso (who started the season as one of the slowest teams) by the end of the season. Despite this, Kubica remained with an outside chance of taking the Drivers' Championship until theChinese Grand Prix, the 17th round out of 18.
In October 2008, the team confirmed that they would stick with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld as their drivers for the2009 season.[26]
Although BMW Sauber targeted the2009 season as the year they would challenge for the title, their start to the season was a disappointment. Kubica was in third place in theopening round, when he collided with Vettel while battling for second place and was forced to retire. Heidfeld then secured the team's first podium of the year inMalaysia, but after six races BMW Sauber had collected a mere six points, and occupied eighth place in the Constructors' Championship out of ten teams. A raft of upgrades were set forTurkey, including an improvedregenerative braking system (KERS) and a double deck diffuser. While the new diffuser was implemented, the KERS could not be made to fit the new car and both drivers raced without the device. After the qualifying session for theBritish Grand Prix Mario Theissen announced that the team had decided to halt further development of KERS; of which BMW had been one of the strongest proponents, and focus instead on improving the car's aerodynamics. This left Ferrari and McLaren as the only remaining users of the KERS system. In theEuropean Grand Prix at Valencia, Kubica scored the team's first points since the race in Turkey.
Following a meeting of the BMW board on 28 July, the company held a press conference the following morning in which it confirmed the team's withdrawal from Formula One at the end of 2009. Chairman Dr.Norbert Reithofer described the decision as a strategic one.[27] TheFormula One Teams Association released a statement in response pledging its support to help the team remain in F1.[28]
On 15 September 2009, it was announced that BMW Sauber had secured a buyer,Qadbak Investments Limited which turned out to be ashell company. However,Lotus Racing had been given the 13th and final slot in the2010 season. The team were awarded what was termed a 14th entry, which hinged either on another team dropping out or all the other teams agreeing to allow 28 cars to enter the 2010 Championship.[29][30]
On 27 November 2009, it was announced thatPeter Sauber would repurchase the team conditional upon the team receiving a FIA entry for the 2010 season.[31]
On 3 December 2009, the FIA confirmed that Sauber had been granted the entry vacated byToyota Racing following their withdrawal[32] and would be using Ferrari engines.[33] Peter Sauber had previously announced, on 29 November, that the team's chassis for the 2010 season would be designated Sauber C29, while the Swiss newspaperBlick reported that the team will be calledTeam Sauber F1.[34] However, in January 2010, Peter Sauber had said that he had not yet applied for a change of name, so therefore they remained for the season asBMW Sauber F1 Team despite zero BMW components.[35]Kamui Kobayashi was announced as their first signed driver for the 2010 season on 17 December 2009.Pedro de la Rosa was signed as Sauber's second driver on 19 January 2010.[36]
Before theSingapore Grand Prix, it was announced that Nick Heidfeld would replace de la Rosa for the remaining five races of the season.Esteban Gutiérrez later joined the team as a reserve driver, and drove during young drivers' testing after the end of the season.
Despite promising pace in winter testing, the team struggled with technical problems in the early rounds of the season, with no points from the first six races. After running a blank livery for the first four races of the 2010 season, the team finally announced a sponsorship deal with theBurger King fast food franchise at theSpanish andEuropean Grands Prix.[37] During frustrations, Peter Sauber admitted that his decision to rescue the team had been emotionally driven, but insisted that it was proper.[38] Finally, inTurkey, Kobayashi finished tenth, collecting the team's first championship point for the season.
At theEuropean Grand Prix in Valencia, after qualifying in 18th place, Kobayashi spent a vast proportion of the race in third position defending fromJenson Button who was following closely behind in fourth. After entering the pits during the closing stages of the race to switch tyres, Kobayashi exited the pit in ninth. In the last few laps of the race, Kobayashi overtook theFerrari ofFernando Alonso and theToro Rosso ofSébastien Buemi for a seventh-place finish. The impressive drive from Kobayashi received much acclaim and was Sauber's best result of the season to-date. Pedro de la Rosa meanwhile, despite originally crossing the line in tenth position to secure 1 point, was relegated to 12th place after a penalty, stripping away a double points finish. Both drivers went on to score points at theJapanese Grand Prix andKorean Grand Prix.
The second half of the season gave more productive and consistent results; The drives of Kobayashi, Heidfeld and de la Rosa combined earned 44 points, giving the team eighth place in the Constructors' Championship. Kobayashi performed the team's season-best finish of sixth at theBritish Grand Prix.
Kobayashi was retained for2011; he was joined by teammateSergio Pérez and his compatriotEsteban Gutiérrez as reserve driver. The team debuted their 2011 car – theC30 – on 31 January,[39] with testing beginning the following day.
At the start of the season inAustralia, both Pérez and Kobayashi were later disqualified due to technical infringements. Pérez suffered a major collision at theMonaco Grand Prix, resulting in concussion and a sprained thigh.[40] Despite being passed fit for theCanadian Grand Prix, Pérez withdrew from the weekend after the first free practice session due to illness, he was replaced by 2010 Sauber driverPedro de la Rosa for the remainder of the weekend.[41]
For the remainder of the season, the team obtained regular top-10 finishes, and overall finished seventh in the Constructors' Championship.
On 28 July, it was announced that Kobayashi, Pérez and Gutiérrez would all remain in the Sauber setup for the 2012 season.[42]
Sauber started the2012 season with a double points-scoring finish – Kobayashi sixth and Pérez eighth – inAustralia, before Pérez finished second the following week, at theMalaysian Grand Prix; the team's best result as an independent team.[43] Kobayashi then started third at theChinese Grand Prix behind the two Mercedes cars ofNico Rosberg andMichael Schumacher; although Kobayashi finished the race in tenth position, he recorded the fastest lap of the race, his first in Formula One.
Prior to theSpanish Grand Prix, Sauber announced a sponsorship deal with EnglishPremier League teamChelsea.[44] After the race, in which Kobayashi equalled his career-best result of fifth, Peter Sauber announced that he had transferred ownership of a third of the team to CEOMonisha Kaltenborn.[45] Pérez achieved his second podium of the season at theCanadian Grand Prix with third place, while Kobayashi added a ninth place to help Sauber move up to sixth place in the Constructors' Championship.[46]
For theGerman Grand Prix, Sauber achieved their best result of the season. After starting in twelfth position, Kobayashi finished fifth, equalling his best result at the time, before a time penalty forSebastian Vettel pushed him up into fourth, giving him the best result of his career. Meanwhile, after starting down in 17th due to a penalty, Pérez managed to work a great tyre strategy and finished just behind Kobayashi – prior to Vettel's penalty – in sixth position, giving the team a total points haul of 20, their best since splitting with BMW, and giving them a 53-point advantage overWilliams for sixth in the Constructors' Championship.[47] At theBelgian Grand Prix, Kobayashi started second and Pérez fourth, the best grid positions in Sauber's history. At the start of the race,Romain Grosjean caused a spectacular crash taking himself, Pérez, championship leaderFernando Alonso andLewis Hamilton out of the race. Kobayashi's Sauber was also damaged and he finished the race in 13th place.
At theItalian Grand Prix, Sauber scored 20 points; Pérez used a one-stop strategy to move from twelfth on the grid to take his third podium of the season with second place, while Kobayashi finished in ninth place.[48] Kobayashi took his first podium finish and the team's fourth of the season at theJapanese Grand Prix; the following week, it was announced that Peter Sauber was stepping back from the daily management of his team, handing the role of team principal to Kaltenborn.[49]
On 23 November 2012, it was announced thatNico Hülkenberg,Esteban Gutiérrez andRobin Frijns would make up the team's line-up for the2013 season; Hülkenberg and Gutiérrez as part of the race team and Frijns as reserve driver.[50] The team's car for the season, theC32, was launched inHinwil on 2 February 2013.[51] The livery was changed and the car is now grey, similar to the Sauber cars in the early 1990s.[52] Despite a promising eighth place for Hülkenberg at the second round of the season, theMalaysian Grand Prix, it was clear soon that the C32 was far from the competitiveness shown by its predecessor, with Hülkenberg unable to obtain better than a tenth-place finish in subsequent races and rookie Gutiérrez having been unable to score as of theBelgian Grand Prix. Despite this, Hülkenberg caused a shock by putting his car third on the grid for theItalian Grand Prix, outqualifying both Ferraris in the process.[53]
On 15 July 2013,Sergey Sirotkin joined Sauber as a development driver as part of a tie-in with Russian investors with a view to promoting him to a race seat as early as2014.[54]
At theSingapore Grand Prix both Hülkenberg and Gutiérrez were in the points, running sixth and seventh respectively due to pitting under the safety car, but as their tyres went away Hülkenberg managed ninth place and Gutiérrez only 12th. Hülkenberg showed some impressive driving inKorea, finishing in fourth place and allowing Sauber to pass Toro Rosso in the standings. TheJapanese Grand Prix saw the team's first double points finish of the 2013 season with Hülkenberg sixth after running most of the race in fourth, and Gutiérrez seventh after an impressive battle with Nico Rosberg's Mercedes. Hülkenberg scored again in the last two rounds and Sauber finished seventh in the WCC with 57 points.
In February 2014,IndyCar Series driverSimona de Silvestro was signed by Sauber as an "affiliated driver", with the intent of racing in F1 by2015.[55] However, by the end of 2014, de Silvestro was no longer part of the team.[56] For the2014 season, Gutiérrez was retained and joined byAdrian Sutil, following Hülkenberg's decision to return toForce India. The team struggled throughout the season, often going out in the first round of qualifying and failing to score a single point for the first time in team history.
On 1 November 2014, it was announced thatMarcus Ericsson would drive for Sauber in2015.[57] On 5 November 2014,Felipe Nasr was announced as a Sauber driver to complete the 2015 line-up.[58]Ferrari Driver Academy memberRaffaele Marciello acted as reserve driver. The team also underwent a livery change in accordance to their new sponsorBanco do Brasil.[59][60]
The start of the season saw Sauber become involved in legal action commenced by their 2014 reserve driver,Giedo van der Garde. On 5 March 2015, van der Garde received a partial award underinternational arbitration by the Swiss Chambers' Arbitration Institution, upholding the driver's contract for a race seat in2015.[61] Sauber breached the contract when the team instead signedFelipe Nasr andMarcus Ericsson as announced in November 2014. Despite the Swiss arbitrator ordering Sauber to "refrain from taking any action the effect of which would be to deprive Mr. van der Garde of his entitlement to participate in the 2015 Formula One season as one of Sauber's two nominated race drivers", further legal action was required to see the award enforced.[62] Just prior to theAustralian Grand Prix held on 13 to 15 March 2015, van der Garde applied to an Australian court who ordered, at first instance on 11 March and on 12 March following Sauber's failed appeal, that he be permitted to race inMelbourne.[63] Due to the risk of having its assets seized for not obeying Court orders,[62] Sauber opted to abort participation in Friday morning's first practice session[64] pending an outcome incontempt of court proceedings against Sauber's team principal,Monisha Kaltenborn.[65]
Based on media speculation, however, thanks to an intervention byBernie Ecclestone to avoid further negative publicity on the sport,[66] Ericsson and Nasr were able to take part in Friday afternoon's second practice session.[67] The matter was temporarily resolved on Saturday, 14 March 2015, following an announcement by van der Garde that he would forego racing in Melbourne,[68] with a view to finding a more permanent solution in the future.[69] The Sauber team and its new drivers for 2015, Ericsson and Nasr, were thus able to complete the Saturday qualifying session and point-scoring race on the Sunday. Three days later, on 18 March 2015, van der Garde confirmed that he and Sauber had reached, by mutual consent, a settlement that would see him relinquish, once and for all, his rights to race in Formula One with the team in return for compensation in the amount of US$16 million.[66][70] The controversy, however, continued due to a statement released by van der Garde revealing further background and indicating that his intention had also been that of promoting the rights of racing drivers, whose contracts are often dishonoured. In response, the Sauber team expressed surprise at van der Garde's post-settlement statement opting to not comment further on the matter.[71]
After the resolution of the dispute, Sauber underwent an improvement from the previous year, finishing fifth in the race, their best result all year. They finished the season eighth, ahead of McLaren and Marussia.
On 23 July 2015, Sauber confirmed that Ericsson and Nasr would be retained for2016.[72]
On 20 July 2016 it was announced that Swiss based investment firm Longbow Finance had bought both Peter Sauber and Monisha Kaltenborn's shares in the company, which made Longbow Finance the sole owner of Sauber. Pascal Picci was announced to take Peter Sauber's role as chairman of the board and president. Monisha Kaltenborn remained as Team principal and CEO of Sauber. The acquisition by Longbow Finance followed a series of speculation about the future of Sauber. The team had been in financial trouble for years before the change of ownership, often being unable to pay salaries to team members on time.[7][73] Longbow's owners are said to include Swedish billionairesFinn Rausing,[74][75]Stefan Persson andKarl-Johan Persson.[75]
During the season, the team only scored points on one occasion; Felipe Nasr's ninth-placed finish in theBrazilian Grand Prix scored two points for the team, who finished tenth in the Constructors' Championship, one point ahead ofManor.[76]
On 11 November 2016, Sauber announced Ericsson would remain with the team in2017.[77] On 16 January 2017, the team announced the signing ofPascal Wehrlein, replacing Nasr.[78] After Wehrlein was injured in a crash at the2017 Race of Champions, Ferrari third driverAntonio Giovinazzi took his place for the first winter test.[79] Despite Wehrlein being fit to take part in theAustralian Grand Prix, he later withdrew after participating in the first two practice sessions, with Giovinazzi replacing him for the rest of the race weekend.[80] Giovinazzi again replaced Wehrlein for the following race inChina.[81] Days before the2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, it was confirmed that the first ever female F1 team principalMonisha Kaltenborn would be stepping down from the team. Her role was replaced by formerRenault team principalFrédéric Vasseur.
In April 2017, it was confirmed Sauber would end their engine deal with Ferrari and begin a new contract withHonda.[82] However, on 27 July 2017, it was announced that Sauber had cancelled their planned partnership with Honda for 2018 onwards for "strategic reasons".[83] The following day Sauber confirmed their new multi-year agreement with Ferrari for up-to-date engines starting in 2018.[84] On 29 November 2017, Sauber announced that they had signed a multi-year technical and commercial partnership contract withAlfa Romeo, therefore the team was renamed toAlfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team for the 2018 season onwards.[85]
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On 2 December 2017, it was announced thatCharles Leclerc andMarcus Ericsson would be racing for the team in 2018.[86]Tatiana Calderón was promoted to the role of test driver, having been a development driver for the team in 2017.[87]On 8 April at theBahrain Grand Prix, Ericsson placed ninth and picked up 2 points for the team using a one-stop strategy. Two races later, Leclerc finished sixth in theAzerbaijan Grand Prix which was the team's highest position since the2015 Australian Grand Prix. The race that followed inSpain saw Leclerc finish in tenth and score back to back points finishing results. It was the first time Sauber finished in the points in back to back races since2015. Over the course of the season, Sauber would finish in the points on 12 occasions and would get both cars in the points twice.
Sauber finished the season with a respectable 48 points, finishing in eighth position on the Constructors' Championship. Following the season's conclusion, Ericsson was not retained for the following season and Leclerc departed forScuderia Ferrari.[88]
In September 2018, Sauber confirmed thatKimi Räikkönen would be swapping places withCharles Leclerc for the2019 season.[89] Also announced in September 2018 was that Ericsson would stay with the team, but asthird driver andbrand ambassador.[90]Antonio Giovinazzi would replace Ericsson and drive alongside Räikkönen for the 2019 season.[91] On 1 February 2019, Sauber announced that it would compete in the 2019 season asAlfa Romeo Racing[92] although the ownership,Swiss racing licence,[93] and management structure would remain unchanged.[94] In addition to Alfa Romeo, sponsors for the season includedShell,[95]Singha,[96] Axitea,[97]Carrera,[98]Iveco,[99]Richard Mille,[98]Magneti Marelli,[100]Pirelli,Claro,[101] Adler-Pelzer,[100]Hewlett Packard Enterprise,Betsafe,[102]Little Mole,[99]Singapore Airlines,[99]Sparco,[103] and Huski Chocolate.[104]
The 2019 season was a good season for Alfa Romeo – they managed to score 57 points and finished eighth in the Constructors' Championship.[105] Räikkönen managed nine point finishes over the 2019 season, with four consecutive top-10 finishes in the first four races.[106] Giovinazzi only managed four point finishes over the season.
Highlight of the season for the team came inBrazil. After an action packed race, a collision betweenAlexander Albon andLewis Hamilton saw both Alfa Romeo's promoted into the top 5. Räikkönen finished P4 and Giovinazzi finished P5,[107][108] securing 22 points for the team and solidifying eighth in the Constructors' Championship.
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Räikkönen and Giovinazzi stayed on for the team after the 2019 season.[109] Ericsson decided to focus fully onIndyCar rather than being Alfa Romeo'sreserve driver.[110] Ericsson ensured that he will maintain links with Alfa Romeo and Sauber.[111] Alfa Romeo signedRobert Kubica to replace Ericsson after he was released byWilliams.[112] This also meant thatPKN Orlen would become the co-title sponsors of Alfa Romeo.[113][114]
After an investigation was launched against Ferrari'spower unit, theFIA reached an unknown agreement with Ferrari,Haas and Alfa Romeo.[115] The details of this agreement are unknown, but it was done to hinder the performance of the Ferrari power unit.[116]
The2020 season was not a good season for Alfa Romeo. While they did manage to retain eighth in the Constructors' Championship, they only managed to get eight points, 49 points below what they got in 2019. Throughout the season, Räikkönen managed only two point finishes, with Giovinazzi got three. Both drivers ended up with four points and ended in 16th and 17th in the drivers' standings respectively.
Alfa Romeo retained both Räikkönen and Giovinazzi with Kubica as the reserve driver for the2021 season. Ahead of theEmilia Romagna Grand Prix, Alfa Romeo confirmed thatCallum Ilott would become their test driver. The Ferrari power unit agreement with theFIA had finished, meaning the power unit should be back to normal use.
Alfa Romeo finished ninth in the Constructors' Championship with 13 points. Räikkönen scored 10 points by finishing in top 10 on four occasions, while Giovinazzi scored twice to collect the remaining three points. Räikkönen tested positive forCOVID-19 ahead of theDutch Grand Prix, forcing him to sit out of the event as well as theItalian Grand Prix a week later. Kubica stood in, finishing 15th and 14th respectively.
After Räikkönen announced his retirement and the team elected not to retain Giovinazzi, former Mercedes driverValtteri Bottas and rookieZhou Guanyu were signed for the2022 season. The team entered the season asAlfa Romeo F1 Team.[117] Bottas had a best result of fifth at Imola and finished 10th in the overall standings, whereas Zhou scored points in three races and ranked 18th in the drivers' standings.
It was the team's best finish in the Constructors' Championship since they had rebranded to Alfa Romeo in 2019, and Sauber's best finish since2012.
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Sauber ended their relationship with Alfa Romeo at the end of2023 season after deciding not to renew the agreement.[118] The driver pairing of Bottas and Zhou were retained for the season. On 13 December 2022,Andreas Seidl was announced as Sauber's new chief executive officer from January 2023, replacing Frédéric Vasseur.[119] In January 2023, Alfa Romeo announced a multi-year title sponsorship agreement withonline casinoStake, renaming the team asAlfa Romeo F1 Team Stake.[120][121] The team also signed a partnership agreement with livestreaming platformKick,[122] which shares Stake co-founder and owner Eddie Craven as investors.[123] Kick's name and logo will replace Stake's in countries where gambling and sports betting advertisements are not allowed asAlfa Romeo F1 Team Kick.[124]
Sauber officially lost itsAlfa Romeo sponsorship due to transitioning to theAudi factory team from 2026 onwards. Due to this, Sauber's links with Ferrari became weaker, with theHaas team effectively assuming Sauber's role asFerrari's new satellite team. Zhou and Bottas stayed on for the2024 season[125] and[126] Sauber entered as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber (but will go as Stake F1 Team on a day-to-day basis), continuing the sponsorship deals signed by Alfa Romeo withStake andKick in the previous season. In countries where gambling advertisement is disallowed, the team competes as Kick Sauber F1 Team and replaced all Stake logos on their car with Kick logos, just as they had done in 2023.[127][128] Kick has also acquired the naming rights of the chassis for two seasons, with the 2024 car named asKick Sauber C44.[129]On 5 February the car launch event was held at London'sGuildhall which was hosted byNaomi Schiff.[130] The team finished the 2024 season in tenth place, scoring only four points.
Nico Hülkenberg returned to the team starting from2025, arriving fromHaas.[131] Hülkenberg was joined by reigning Formula 2 ChampionGabriel Bortoleto, completing their lineup for 2025.[132]
Jonathan Wheatley was initially expected to join Sauber as the new Team Principal in the summer of 2025, replacing Team RepresentativeAlessandro Alunni Bravi.[133][134] On 15 January, Sauber announced that Team RepresentativeAlessandro Alunni Bravi would be leaving the team at the end of January.[135][136] Thus, this meant that Chief Operating and Technical OfficerMattia Binotto would serve as Team Principal temporarily until Wheatley's arrival. Subsequently, reports emerged on the same day that Wheatley's gardening leave would be ending earlier and he would begin his new role on 1 April, which would be in time for the Japanese Grand Prix.[137][138] On 12 March, Sauber officially confirmed that Wheatley will join the team from 1 April, which meant that he will be making his debut as Team Principal at the Japanese Grand Prix.[139][140]
In February 2025, it was announced that Sauber would be opening a new 'technical centre' in the United Kingdom by the summer, with Bicester, Silverstone, and Milton Keynes as potential locations. This was part of the move to allow Sauber to “extend the team’s presence and influence within the global Formula 1 landscape” as it will give them access “to the world’s largest motorsport expertise and talent pool.[141][142][143] Subsequently, Bicester was announced as the location which the 'technical centre' would be opened in, specifically Bicester Motion.[4][5]
At theBritish Grand Prix, Hülkenberg finished in third place to take his first ever podium in Formula One after 239 race starts, which was also Sauber's first since the2012 Japanese Grand Prix.
On 26 October 2022, it was announced that Sauber will compete as theAudi factory team from 2026 and will use Audi's power unit, thus ended a sixteen-year customer engine relationship with Ferrari since 2010 season.[144] In January 2023, Audi announced the acquisition of a minority stake in the Sauber Group.[145] On 8 March 2024, the Audi Group confirmed a full takeover of Sauber. Former McLaren team principalAndreas Seidl was planned to continue as CEO, additionally taking over the role of team principal fromAlessandro Alunni Bravi.[146] However, he was replaced by former Ferrari team principalMattia Binotto starting from 1 August 2024.[147] Red Bull sporting directorJonathan Wheatley was expected to join in the summer of 2025, having left Red Bull at the end of 2024 and having planned to go on gardening leave in the start of 2025.[148] However, he joined earlier on 1 April 2025 following a deal struck for his earlier release to Sauber.
In November 2018, Sauber entered a partnership with Czech teamCharouz Racing System to form the Sauber Junior Team, followed by the creation of a karting team in March 2019.[149][150] In 2020, Sauber relaunched the junior team as Sauber Academy and parted ways with Charouz.[151][152]
The new identity was originally flagged in the FIA entry last month as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber. That remains its official full identity – including the Kick Sauber chassis name – but the Swiss outfit will use the short version on a day-to-day basis.
47°18′31″N8°49′02″E / 47.3085163°N 8.8172027°E /47.3085163; 8.8172027
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