Top 5 Sauber F1 Drivers

Since 1993, the Sauber team has been a mainstay in F1, along with Williams, McLaren and Ferrari. So here is an article, looking at the most impressive drivers to have ever represented the team. The list does contain a driver who would go onto win a F1 Championship.

A special mention: While Sebastian Vettel did race effectively for Sauber in 2007, he is not included as he drove just a half season for BMW Sauber in 2007.

5. Sergio Perez

The Mexican who drives for Force India, made his F1 debut in 2011 with Sauber F1. He also brought in a sponsor for the team, but he proved his worth with a 7 placed finish on his debut in Australia (which later saw both Sauber cars disqualified for failure to comply with regulations).

He showed erratic form, crashing into other drivers during the race but also displayed raw pace and talent. His first season was erratic at the start but he was somewhat scoring points regularly towards the end.

2012, he fared better, while he still would not finish in the points in every race. He scored all 3 of his podiums in this year, finishing second in Malaysia and Italy and 3rd in Canada. For a car that was not expected to trouble the top teams, it showed its pace. After giving more consistent performances in 2012, he then left the team and headed to Mclaren in 2013 before joining Force India in 2014.

4. Felipe Massa

In the first 3 years of his career as an active F1 Driver, Massa was with Sauber F1, having made his debut back in 2002.  His first season was not that spectacular with just  3 point finishes, he was without a drive in 2003. He came back in 2004, as Sauber’s fortunes improved and he scored  12 of the team’s 34 points. 2005 was not spectacular as he scored 11 points out of 20 , but he constantly outpaced, out qualified his teammate, former world champion, Jacques Villeneuve.

His performances over the last couple of seasons with Sauber, which saw him finish races better positioned than his debut season was a reason why he was chosen to join Ferrari in 2006, where he nearly won the World Championship in 2008.

3. Kimi Raikkonen

He may have just had a season with Sauber F1, but Kimi, or Iceman announced his arrival to the Formula One world being at the Swiss side. He was consistent at the start scoring 9 points in 2001 (back then, points were not as liberally awarded as they are now).

As it was with any new driver, there were quite a few retirements on his debut, but it was seen with consistent finishing of races and finishing in the points , as the team would finish 4th in the constructors championship (till then, the best ever finish in Sauber’s history. )

Kimi left the team after just a season  driving for McLaren, Ferrari and Lotus where he was winning races and the Championship in 2007. He is the only Suaber F1 driver on our list to become a world champion.

2. Robert Kubica

Most of his career as a F1 Driver before his accident, Kubica was with BMW Sauber. Together with Heidfeld he was a part of the best season ever experienced by the team.  Till date, he is the only driver of Sauber to have won a race as he led a 1-2 finish 2008 Canadian Grand Prix for the team.

He started late in 2006, scoring a podium at Monza but scoring no points elsewhere before he started to put in some consistent point finishes in 2007. 2008 saw him really outpace his teammate Heidfeld  with 7 of his 9 podiums with the team coming in this year, as he was an outside contender for the Drivers Championship.

2009 was bad for him as he scored 17 points compared to 75 of 2008, but he improved in the second half of the season to take 2nd place in Brazil.

He joined Lotus in 2010, but a rally car accident in 2011 saw his F1 career cut short.

1. Nick Heidfeld

With 13 podiums and no wins, Heidfeld is the driver with the most races and podiums without a win. Most of his races and 9 of his 13 podiums came in his stints with Sauber. He is also one of the longest serving drivers for the team.

2001-03, he was the leading driver for Sauber, finishing 3rd and always outscoring his teammates except for 03. He moved to Jordan in 2004 before returning to the BMW Sauber F1 Team in 2006.

With Kubica as his primary partner, they witnessed together the greatest times, for the team. In 2007, Heidfeld was a consistent driver, helping the team finish with 105 points and 2nd in the Constructors (62 coming from Nick).

In 2008, the team scored 135 points as Heidfeld mostly finished off the podium and provided valuable points and support to the team.  The year of 2009 was a time of struggle for the team but he showed his consistency in the sport. He was released in 2009 when BMW withdrew but returned for the last few races in 2010.

With half a season with Lotus in 2011, he ended his F1 career, but he still continues to race in Formula Endurance Racing and Formula- E.