Currently operating under the name Stake F1 Team, Sauber has been managed by Sauber Motorsport since entering F1 in 1993. During its time on the grid, the team has been known under various guises with links to major car brands such as BMW and Alfa Romeo.
Current Sauber Drivers
5
Gabriel
Bortoleto
2025 Australian Grand Prix F1 Debut
Sauber Current/Last Team
Nico
Hulkenberg
2010 Bahrain Grand Prix F1 Debut
Sauber Current/Last Team
Full Team Name: Stake F1 Team
Base: Hinwil, Switzerland
Team Chief: Alessandro Alunni Bravi
Technical Chief: James Key
First Team Entry: 1993
World Championships: 0
A Swiss motorsport engineering firm, Sauber Motorsport, was established in 1970 by Peter Sauber. The team were initially involved in hill climbing and the World Sportscar Championship before entering Formula 1 in 1993.
Peter Sauber, known for his knack for identifying emerging talent, founded a team that became a launchpad for young drivers entering Formula 1.
The team provided the first opportunity for many future stars, including Michael Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Kimi Räikkönen, Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica, Sebastian Vettel, Kamui Kobayashi, Sergio Perez, Antonio Giovinazzi, Charles Leclerc, and Zhou Guanyu. Other, notable drivers like Johnny Herbert, Jean Alesi, Nick Heidfeld, Jacques Villeneuve, and Nico Hülkenberg have also driven for Sauber, among others.
The team has competed under the Sauber name from the 1993 to 2005 seasons and the 2011 to 2018 seasons.
Between 2006 and 2010, after BMW announced its acquisition of a majority stake in the Swiss team, the brand transformed Sauber into a fully integrated works team known as the BMW Sauber F1 Team. The team achieved its first one-two finish at the 2006 Canadian Grand Prix, with Robert Kubica leading Nick Heidfeld across the finish line. They concluded the season in third place overall, amassing a total of 135 points and securing 11 podium finishes.
After a difficult beginning to the 2009 season, BMW declared its exit from Formula One at the end of the season. The team ended the World Championship in sixth place, having gathered 36 points. At the close of 2009, Peter Sauber successfully negotiated the repurchase of his company from BMW, marking the start of another new independent era for the team until the end of the 2018 season.
From 2019 to 2023, it was known as Alfa Romeo F1 Team due to a Title Sponsorship deal with car manufacturer Alfa Romeo. This signalled the iconic brand’s return to Formula One after a break of over 30 years. The first car, the C37, was equipped with the 2018 Ferrari power unit and made its first appearance in Melbourne, Australia, driven by the seasoned Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson and the rookie from Monaco, Charles Leclerc. The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team quickly made its mark by scoring its first points of 2018 during the second Grand Prix in Bahrain with Marcus Ericsson, and in the fourth round of the season in Baku with Charles Leclerc.
In 2024, Sauber returned to the grid as the Stake F1 Team and will end its time in F1 at the end of the 2025 season. Starting in 2026, they will become the official Audi factory team.
For 2025 Nico Hülkenberg departed the Haas team after a two-year stint to rejoin Sauber, where he last raced in 2013. Meanwhile, both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu exited Sauber after three years, making room for the 2024 Formula 2 champion, Gabriel Bortoleto, to join Hülkenberg at Sauber.
