Breaking news
Formula 1
Sauber F1 team renamed Alfa Romeo Racing
The Sauber name will disappear from the Formula 1 grid in 2019 as the team officially rebrands as Alfa Romeo Racing.
Scott Mitchell
Edited: Feb 1, 2019, 1:47 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Alfa's title sponsorship of Sauber last year marked its first major F1 involvement since the 1985 season.
That partnership was always intended to expand onto a technical front to enable Alfa, part of the Fiat group that includes Ferrari, to become more actively involved.
The team will be entered into the 2019 world championship as Alfa Romeo Racing, effectively reviving the works entry that won the inaugural F1 titles in 1950 and 1951.
It is not strictly an out-and-out factory operation, as Sauber's ownership and management remain unchanged and independent of Alfa.
The cars, which will driven by 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari test and development driver Antonio Giovinazzi, will sport Alfa's four-leaf clover emblem that denotes its high-performance vehicles.
Alfa team principal Frederic Vasseur said: "It is a pleasure to announce that we will enter the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship with the team name 'Alfa Romeo Racing'.
"After initiating the collaboration with our title sponsor Alfa Romeo in 2018, our team made fantastic progress on the technical, commercial, and sporting side.
"This has given a boost of motivation to each team member, be that track-side or at the headquarter in Switzerland, as the hard work invested has become reflected in our results.
"We aim to continue developing every sector of our team while allowing our passion for racing, technology and design to drive us forward".
From the archive:
The Sauber name has been on the F1 grid since 1993, even when it was bought by BMW and ran as a fully-fledged works team from 2006 to 2009.
Founded by Peter Sauber, the team scored points in its debut season and every year thereafter, with the exception of a troubled 2014 campaign.
It struggled again in 2016 and 2017 but fresh investment, hiring Vasseur as team boss and establishing closer links with Ferrari and subsequently Alfa have helped revitalise its fortunes.
That left Sauber tipped as the team to watch in F1 this year, following its improvement with contemporary Ferrari engines and an enhanced technical effort in 2018 that helped it finish eighth in the constructors' championship.
"We're proud to collaborate with Sauber in bringing Alfa Romeo's tradition of technical excellence and Italian panache to the pinnacle of motorsport.
"Make no mistake: with Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi on one side of the pit wall and Alfa Romeo and Sauber expertise on the other, we are here to compete."
Alfa Romeo Racing logo
Photo by: Alfa Romeo
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article McLaren releases video of 2019 F1 car fire-up
Next article The at-home key to an F1 rookie's rise
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Mitchell
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Formula 1
Formula 1
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Formula 1
Formula 1
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Formula 1
Formula 1
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
More from
Sauber
You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica
Formula 1
You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica
Lewis Hamilton 'almost signed for Sauber' before F1 debut, says Peter Sauber
Formula 1
Formula 1
Barcelona-Catalunya Pre-Season Testing
Lewis Hamilton 'almost signed for Sauber' before F1 debut, says Peter Sauber
F1 2025 season highlights: Fans crown Nico Hulkenberg's podium and Lando Norris's title as top moments
Formula 1
Formula 1
F1 2025 season highlights: Fans crown Nico Hulkenberg's podium and Lando Norris's title as top moments
Latest news
Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
1 h
Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
4 h
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
5 h
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
6 h
Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe