The Sauber F1 team has been a pale shadow of its former self in the past few years. To be honest, the team was not exactly a front-running unit. However, one would say that their best form would put them as solid midfield runners. Its best-ever campaign came during the 2007 season when they finished 2nd in the championship. Around their time, the line-up included Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, and they even handed a certain Sebastian Vettel his F1 debut.

In the following year, the team dropped to 3rd, and those two years were arguably its zenith. From there, it was all downhill and BMW left after 2010. Though there were a few bright sparks in 2012 as a few stray podiums gave some hope, however, the team has not recovered ever since.

How is the situation for Sauber ahead of the Audi takeover?

Fast-forward to 2025 and Sauber had gone through a couple of transformations. From 2018 to 2023, Alfa Romeo took over the reigns and Sauber has disappeared off the F1 map. 2024 saw the team become Stake F1 after Alfa Romeo’s exit, but still loosely retained the Sauber name. Now, in 2026, Audi is expected to join the party and the Sauber name will vanish once again.

For the 2023 season, Andreas Seidl was appointed as CEO of Sauber Motorsports and would take over as team principal from Alessandro Bravi. However, circumstances meant that he was unceremoniously replaced by a former Ferrari team principal, Mattia Binotto. This was largely because Audi’s management was displeased with the team’s lack of progress. They had a reason to be angry because the team did not score a point until the penultimate race.

When Binotto took over the reins at Sauber, he raised a few concerns. He told Autosport in an exclusive interview, “When I came in there was not only zero points, but really even no plans nor developments. And that’s what concerned me the most. Everything was only focused on ’26, but that was for me somehow a problem because I think that a team needs always to fight on track. It’s only by fighting, competing on track, that you can understand how good you’re doing and if whatever you’re doing is going the right direction. You need to understand performance. You need to understand weaknesses and strengths, and you need as well to address them. And that’s the real know-how of a team. When I joined in August, really, it was like a team that was almost frozen.”

That single points finish from the outgoing Zhou Guanyu, was down to an upgrade package introduced at Las Vegas. In light of this, Binotto believes that despite the poor 2024, there is a chance to improve for Sauber. Everything starts in 2025, with a new driver line-up consisting of Nico Hulkenberg and reigning Formula 2 Champion Gabriel Bortoleto.

What plans does the ex-Ferrari team principal have?

In the buildup to the new season, the team has gone on an aggressive recruitment drive. Aston Martin made the rock star signing of Red Bull technical guru, Adrian Newey. However, they were not the only ones with a marquee recruitment. Stake/Audi became the second team to raid the Red Bull employee base, and were successful.

Their prize was Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley. The 57-year-old departed the organization at the end of the season and will take a year’s ‘gardening leave’. When he joins his new employers in 2026, he is expected to take on the role of team principal.

Meanwhile, Binotto opened up on the future of the team and the program. He added, “As you can imagine, just building, maybe a new facility, it takes three years to attract people, and good people. You need to offer them a good environment in which to work and to live,” Binotto knows that this is going to be hard work and does not expect immediate results but has faith in the program. “So maybe it’s only in three years’ time we can reach our objective of fighting for wins, and let me say the title by 2030. That’s still very ambitious, very challenging. But that is how long it will take.”

As for the drivers, both Hulkenberg and Bortoleto are in for the long haul. Both their contracts run through to 2026 when Audi officially enter the fray. The German giants have already established themselves as juggernauts in other racing disciplines like the World Endurance Championship. Formula One just so happens to be an attempt to add another feather to the cap.