Current Alfa Romeo Racing (formerly Sauber)

Sauber

FIA Entry: Sauber F1 Team
Car 16: Kamui Kobayashi
Car 17: Sergio Perez
Engine: Ferrari V8
Team Principal: Peter Sauber
Technical Director: James Key
Race Engineer Car 16: Francesco Nenci
Race Engineer Car 17:Marco Schupbach

Stats as of end 2010

First Entered 1993
Races Entered 296
Race Wins 1
Pole Positions 1
Fastest Laps 2
Driver World Championships 0
Constructor World Championships 0

The Beginning

Following success in sports car racing Peter Sauber, in collaboration with Mercedes Benz, moved into Formula 1 in 1993. With Ilmor engines Sauber entered the C12 car (the C prefix for Sauber cars coming from Peter Sauber’s wife Christine) driven by Mercedes sports car drivers JJ Lehto and Karl Wendlinger. Lehto finished a creditable 5th in their first race and the cars proved fast but unreliable. When the cars finished they often picked up points with Lehto managing 4th in San Marino and Wendlinger the same placing in Italy.

In 1994 the team became officially Sauber Mercedes as the Ilmor engines were rebadged as Mercedes units. Heinz Harald Frentzen replaced Lehto and the team showed similar pace to the previous season with a number of minor points placings. Wendlinger was replaced, following an accident at Monaco, firstly by Andrea de Cesaris and later in the season by Lehto. Wendlinger’s accident, following closely after the deaths of Senna and Ratzenberger at San Marino, resulted in changes to the design of the cockpit on F1 cars to provide greater head protection in the event of an accident.

Red Bull & Ford

1995 saw Mercedes leave Sauber to supply engines to McLaren. Now armed with Red Bull sponsorship, Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz having bought a stake in the Sauber team, Sauber sourced Ford factory engines. Wendlinger hadn’t recovered well and was replaced early in the season by Jean Christophe Bouillon. Sauber amassed 18 points for the season with Frentzen taking a podium for 3rd in Belgium.

Jonny Herbert partnered Frentzen for 1996 and managed a highest of 3rd at Monaco, with Frentzen 4th, but the team ended the season on their lowest points tally since entering Formula 1 with 11 points

Ferrari Customer

From 1997 to 2005 Sauber used customer Ferrari engines and run under the name of title sponsor Petronas. The tie in with Ferrari extended beyond the supply of engines as Ferrari also provided the Swiss team with technical support.

Jonny Herbert continued with Sauber for 1997 and ’98 and was partnered in ’98 by veteran Jean Alesi. Herbert managed a podiums at Hungary in ’97 and Alesi in Belgium in ’98 but generally Sauber’s performance was fairly ordinary. In 2001 Sauber hired young Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen amidst protest form other teams due to his lack of experience. Raikkonen scored a point on his debut with teammate Nick Heidfeld 4th in the same race. Raikkonen’s appointment also triggered the sale of Red Bull’s stake in Sauber to Credit Suisse as the Austrian drinks company wanted the seat given to Enrique Bernoldi.

Peter Sauber continued to give drives to promising youngsters with Felipe Massa racing for him in 2004 & 2005 and Robert Kubica replacing Jacques Villeneuve in 2006.

BMW Sauber

For 2006 BMW took a controlling interest in the Sauber team and BMW units replaced Ferrari engines. BMW “works” driver Nick Heidfeld returned to Sauber from Williams and the team finished 2nd in the Constructors Championship behind Ferrari (following the exclusion of the McLaren team). Heidfeld scored points in 14 of the 17 races that season. 2007 also saw the first F1 drive for Sebastien Vettel who substituted for Robert Kubica at the race in Indianapolis following the Pole’s crash in Canada.

2008 saw Sauber take their first Grand Prix win with Kubica victorious in Canada and Heidfeld coming home 2nd. The team scored numerous podiums and claimed 3rd spot in the Constructors Championship.

2009 was a disappointing season following the highs of 2008 as Sauber struggled with changes to design regulations. Heidfeld and Kubica both managed a 2nd place each but the team dropped to 6th in the Constructors Championship. By the end of the season BMW decided to pull out of the sport.

Back to Ferrari

Following BMW’s withdrawal Peter Sauber took back control of his team. Re-equipped with Ferrari engines Sauber signed promising young Japanese driver Kamui Kobayshi alongside returning veteran Pedro de la Rosa. Early season reliability problems blighted the team but by the end of the season, and the replacement of de la Rosa with Nick Heidfeld, Sauber began to score points on a regular basis. Kobayshi managed a highest finish of 6th in Britain and the team ended 8th in the Constructors Championship.

2011

Kobayashi stays with Sauber for 2011 alongside Sergio Perez who brings with him some much-needed sponsorship from Mexican Telecoms company Telmex. The C30 chassis continues with a Ferrari engine.

 

[Bill Boddy]

What happens if this coming season Mercedes win the WDC and WCC but McLaren take second and third in both categories, despite early season reliability, then have a second half that outscore Mercedes. Would Mercedes stay or would they walk just as they have before with the excuse that they have already won everything?

 

[siffert_fan]

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/322841/letting-van-der-garde-race-would-be-reckless/

The question I have is where Sauber claims the chassis were designed just for their two signed drivers and that putting anyone else in it would be dangerous. Are they saying that each entire chassis is completely tailored to one, and only one driver? If so, do they even have a spare chassis? If so, doesn't that make nonsense of their original argument?

I really do hate legal Bovine Excrement.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Sounds like bullshit to me I watched something about McLaren and painting their chassis apparently they rotate the tubs between drivers on a race by race basis, so when a TP comes out and starts banging on about one of his drivers not performing and the reason was that they found a crack or a fault in that drivers chassis they are talking bollocks, two examples Brawn on Schumacher the Merc years and Horner on Vettel last year.

The only thing different between two drivers chassis in the same team is the seat and the pedal positions the seat is removable and the pedal positions are adjustable, but if anyone wants to believe that a team would go to the massive expense of building bespoke chassis for each of its drivers then be my guest, and anyway how the fuck would that work during testing when they only bring one car to the track?

 

[teabagyokel]

Just because McLaren do something; doesn't mean successful teams do.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Are Sauber successful then..

 

[teabagyokel]

Sorry, you mentioned Horner etc.

I doubt the Woking Lextenders are a model of good practice to anyone.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I think the main point is that teams do not build individual tubs customised for each driver as Sauber seem to suggest they have done..

 

[teabagyokel]

I think they should be charged under the Canadian H&S laws for parachuting de la Rosa into the 2011 Montreal race.

 

[Mephistopheles]

 

[Olivier]

So who's driving?

 

[teabagyokel]

Could be anyone. Was their break-up with Wendlinger uncontroversial?

 

[Mephistopheles]

I'll throw my hat in the ring for a drive, you never know...

 

[cider_and_toast]

Well if Susie Wolff can do it, you never know Mephistopheles. Is Monisha Kaltenborn married ??

 

[siffert_fan]

After this dog and pony show, she needs to be replaced

 

[RasputinLives]

Whilst what they've done is pretty dumb I genuinely think its been done for survival. I think they realised that unless they took on Ericsson and Nasr with the sponsors they bring they weren't going to make it through 2015. So they just did it and knew they'd pay the price for it eventually.

Once again a sign of F1's financial sickness.

 

[siffert_fan]

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/court-could-seize-sauber-assets-and-take-action-against-kaltenborn

Will we now be short two teams this weekend?

 

[FB]

I can't help but think about a situation at Portsmouth Football Club a few years ago. Sol Campbell decided that he hadn't been paid for his image rights and so took Pompey to court. The reaction from Pompey was "if you persist with this we will have to liquidate the club" (they were already in administration). Fortunately Sol was just added to the list of creditors and got about twenty quid in the end.

I mention this as the net result of what van de Garde is up to could put Sauber out of business. So not only does he not get to drive an F1 car but he also manages to deprive F1 of another team and two other drivers of a seat in F1.

Dick!

 

[Jen]

If only we could have a glimpse of his contract with Sauber, then we maybe able to work who is the 'dick' in all this.

 

[Slyboogy]

No point being in a team that doesn't want you, they aren't doing anything to help, should have just asked for the money back and then been on his way.

 

[-WBF1-]

As much sympathy as I have for the non-management workers, it is their bosses that have out them in this situation.

We know VDG has a valid contract, due to various legal action in multiple countries. VDG personal sponsors who paid for VDG last year (and possibly paid up front this year, although yet to be proven) may have recourse to legal action against VDG, due to lost exposure he promised them based on his legal contract. It is perfectly possible he has very little option but to push this legal action through or be sued himself.

My biggest hope is Sauber survive.