Sauber Motorsport
Updated: Wikipedia source
Sauber Motorsport AG was a Swiss motorsport engineering company and race team. Founded by Peter Sauber as PP Sauber AG in 1970, the team produced sports cars and later Formula One race cars as an independent constructor. In endurance racing, the team achieved two world championships and overall victory at the 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans with Mercedes-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 by Audi AG in 2024 to form the chassis construction and sporting basis of the Audi 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 the C1, which was built in his parents' garage, Sauber's early cars competed in local Swiss championships. The team debuted in FIA competition with the Sauber C5, which competed in the 1977 24 Hour of Le Mans. Its most successful sports car, the Sauber C9, won two consecutive world endurance championships and brought Mercedes back to the World Sportscar Championship as Team Sauber Mercedes. After Group 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 including Heinz Harald-Frentzen, Kimi Räikkönen, and Felipe 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 by BMW in 2005 and raced as BMW Sauber F1 Team from 2006 to 2009. The team achieved its best Formula One results during this period, most notably winning the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix and finishing second in the 2007 World Constructor's Championship. However, the global financial crisis forced BMW to sell the team after the 2009 season, after which Peter Sauber reacquired his eponymous team for one euro. As an independent constructor again from 2010 to 2025, the team purchased customer Ferrari power but struggled financially. Peter Sauber sold his controlling stake in the team to Finn Rausing in 2016, who reorganized the team's leadership and cancelled the team's confirmed engine switch to Honda. In 2018 the team signed a title sponsorship agreement with Alfa Romeo, and Sauber raced as Alfa Romeo Racing and later as Alfa Romeo F1 Team until 2023. The team was purchased by Audi AG in 2024 with the intention of transforming Sauber into Audi's manufacturer entry for 2026. In its final two seasons, the team competed as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber or Kick Sauber based on local gambling sponsorship laws.