Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

CEO/Founder: Andreas Seidl
Team Chief: Alessandro Alunni Bravi
Technical Chief: Mattia Binotto
Sports Director: Jonathan Wheatley

Chassis 2025: C45

Engine: Ferrari
Tyre: Pirelli

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Reserve Driver: -

2025 season

Sauber is facing a significant transition period ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

After a disappointing 2024, to say the least, with only four points scored and last place in the constructors' championship, the Swiss team, which will become AUDI in 2026, has begun a reorganisation process that has seen the arrival of key figures such as Mattia Binotto, ex-Ferrari, and Jonathan Wheatley, ex-Red Bull, and the departure of drivers Bottas and Zhou.

The next single-seater will be entrusted to a new driver line-up consisting of Nico Hulkenberg and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, a Formula 2 champion.

At the O2 Arena in London on Feb. 18, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber presented the livery of the new single-seater in the presence of Team Principal Mattia Binotto of drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. Soon after, the team released images and videos of the 2025 single-seater, the C45

The C45 is the result of months of relentless development back at the team’s base in Hinwil, Switzerland, a machine designed to not just look aggressive on track, but to deliver where it matters. The engineering team, led by Technical Director, James Key, has left no stone unturned in the pursuit of performance, aiming to pick up things where they were left off in Abu Dhabi at the end of last season. The C45 is a statement of intent, an aggressive leap aimed to land the team into the midfield battle, a car built to fight harder, push further, and take every opportunity that comes its way. 

The C45 is a combination of evolution and revolution and a testament to the hard work of countless individuals throughout the season and over the winter period. Development efforts in this final year of the current regulations focused on a fully re-engineered aerodynamic package, alongside mechanical refinements underneath the bodywork including an optimised cooling system and a new front and rear suspension architecture. Sporting an improved, sleek livery featuring its now signature black and green, the C45 is designed to grab attention both on and off the track. 

Key changes from 2024:

• Fully reengineered aerodynamic package, incorporating key bodywork components from front to rear
• Revised front and rear suspension architecture, encompassing both mechanical and aerodynamic components
• Optimised cooling system, delivering increased efficiency with reduced installation weight

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History

The Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula 1 and formerly sports car racing team, competing among others in the World Sportscar Championship, founded by Peter Sauber and based in Hinwil. From 2020, it will be entered in the Formula 1 World Championship under the name Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN, following the sponsorship agreement with the Italian car manufacturer that began in 2018 (which became the team's title name from 2019), and the one with the Polish company that became a co-title sponsor from 2020.

From the 2006 to the 2009 season, the team was sold to German manufacturer BMW, which made it its official team while maintaining a reference to the original team in its name, BMW Sauber.

On 27 November 2009, the team was sold back to its former owner and founder Peter Sauber, resuming the name Sauber. On 20 July 2016, Peter Sauber sold the team to the Swiss investment company Longbow Finance SA, which retained the historic name despite the new ownership.

On 2 December 2017, a press conference was held at the Alfa Romeo Historical Museum in Arese, where the terms of the agreement between the FCA Group and the Swiss team were explained, followed by a ceremony to present the new livery, which picks up the historical colours of Alfa Romeo; the single-seater, unveiled on 20 February 2018, is driven by drivers Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson and mounts Ferrari engines.

In 2018 Sauber had good results, finishing eighth, with 48 points, of which 39 were obtained by Leclerc, who finished 13th in the drivers' classification.

In 2019, the team changed its name to Alfa Romeo Racing, and replaced both drivers: Charles Leclerc, who had moved to Ferrari, was replaced by Kimi Räikkönen, who came from the Maranello team and was already a Sauber driver in 2001, while Marcus Ericsson, relegated to the role of third driver, was replaced by Antonio Giovinazzi, who had already competed in the first two races of 2017 with Sauber, replacing the injured Pascal Wehrlein. The team confirmed the good results by finishing eighth again, with 57 points, of which 43 were obtained by Räikkönen, who finished 12th in the drivers' classification.

In 2020 the Polish oil company PKN Orlen became co-title sponsor of Sauber together with Alfa Romeo. Both Räikkönen and Giovinazzi are reconfirmed for this season, but the Alfa Romeo C39 proves to be very uncompetitive and both the Italian and the Finn in qualifying often stay out in Q1, then achieving rare points finishes in the race. The team closes the season with only 8 points obtained, although it confirms the eighth position in the constructors' championship obtained in the two previous years.

For the 2021 season, the driver line-up of Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi was confirmed for the third year running. The season proved to be as disappointing as the previous one, with a total haul of 13 points, which dropped the team to ninth place in the Constructors' Championship. Furthermore, Räikkönen announced his retirement from Formula One at the end of the championship.

In the 2022 season, the team completely renewed its driver line-up: after the farewells of Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi, their replacements were Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas, who came from Mercedes, and the young Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu, making his Formula 1 debut. The name of the team also changes, officially becoming Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN.

On 26 August Alfa Romeo announced that the partnership with Sauber Motorsport will end by the end of 2023, while on 26 October it was made official that the team will become Audi's official racing team from 2026.

After the last two very difficult seasons, with few points scored, Alfa Romeo is the author of a positive championship, especially in the first part, where Bottas scores points with some regularity. In the second half, on the other hand, there were only three top-ten finishes for the two drivers, but young Zhou still had the satisfaction of setting the fastest lap in the Japanese Grand Prix, even though he only finished 16th. The final tally was 55 points, which saw the Swiss team climb to sixth place in the Constructors' Championship, a result they had not achieved for 10 years.

The driver line-up of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu is confirmed for the 2023 season. In addition, the Swiss team embraces a new co-title sponsor, the Canadian company Stake, being officially renamed Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake. Compared to 2022, the Swiss team was much less competitive in the first half of the championship, with only four top-ten finishes, although Zhou did set the fastest lap at the season opener in Bahrain, despite only finishing 16th, just as he had done a year earlier in Japan. The Chinese driver himself, together with his team-mate Bottas, performed an ‘exploit’ during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, finishing fifth and seventh respectively, but then finished outside the points zone in the race. After the summer break, Alfa Romeo only scored points on two occasions: a tenth place by Bottas in Italy, and an eighth place by the Finnish driver and a ninth place by Zhou in the Qatar Grand Prix (best performance of the season). These disappointing results caused the team to slip back to ninth in the constructors' championship, with a total of just 16 points.

The 2024 season proved even worse, with only a slight improvement in the last two rounds. It closes in last position.

(source Wikipedia)

First race:

South African Grand Prix 1993

First victory:

Year	Chassis	Engine	Points
2025	Sauber C45	Ferrari	55
2024	Sauber C44	Ferrari	4
2023	Sauber C43	Ferrari	16
2022	Sauber C42	Ferrari 066/7	55
2021	Sauber C41	Ferrari 065/6	13
2020	Sauber C39	Ferrari	8
2019	Sauber C38	Ferrari 064	57
2018	Sauber C37	Alfa Romeo	48
2017	Sauber C36	Ferrari 2016	5
2016	Sauber C35	Ferrari	2
2015	Sauber C34	Ferrari	36
2013	Sauber C32	Ferrari 056	57
2012	Sauber C31	Ferrari 056	126
2011	Sauber C30	Ferrari 056	44
2010	Sauber C29	Ferrari 056	44
2005	Sauber C24	Petronas 05A	20
2004	Sauber C23	Petronas 04A	34
2003	Sauber C22	Petronas 03A	19
2002	Sauber C21	Petronas 02A	11
2001	Sauber C20	Ferrari 049	21
2000	Sauber C19	Petronas SPE 04A	6
1999	Sauber C18	Petronas SPE 03A	5

* Season with at least 1 point won (since 2000)

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