SAUBER will not be part of the 2019 Formula 1 scene.
In a surprise announcement, the Swiss team, which has been an integral part of the grid for the past 26 years, said it would enter the 2019 Formula 1World Championship as Alfa Romeo Racing.
Alfa, of course, returned to Formula 1 last season after an absence of more than 30 years, in a multi-year technical and commercial partnership with Sauber.
Now the focus will be on Alfaβs name, despite ownership and management of the Sauber squad remaining unchanged and independent.
Alfa Romeo was the dominant force when the Formula 1 World Championship began in 1950, with the Italian marque claiming a historic 1-2-3 in the first race at Silverstone before securing back-to-back world championships with Nino Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio.
This year, Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi will be driving the cars with the charming badge of a serpent ingesting a man.
βAfter initiating the collaboration with Alfa Romeo in 2018, our team made fantastic progress on the technical, commercial and sporting side,β team principal Frederic Vasseur said.
Β βThis has given a boost of motivation to each team member as the hard work invested has become reflected in our results.
βWe aim to continue developing every sector of our team while allowing our passion for racing, technology and design to drive us forward.β
Sauberβs most successful period came under the ownership of BMW, during which they scored their sole F1 victory in 2008.
Last year the Swiss team, which uses Ferrari power units, finished eighth in the constructors’ standings having shown considerable progress over the course of the season.Β
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They have only once failed to score points, and will now look to push on under a new but familiar name in Formula 1.
Aside from a four-year period between 2006 and 2009, when the team was sold to BMW, Sauber has raced as a proud F1 independent.
Even during that time, the German manufacturer opted to keep the Swiss name and race as BMW Sauber, with then boss Mario Theissen saying βit reflects the teamβs make-up β run by BMW but with a core of 300 Sauber employeesβ.
Peter Sauber treated the team like family.
When BMW opted to quit, h bought the team back to save the name and secure the futures of the hundreds of staff who had dedicated their lives to the operation.
Their loyalty, through even the most depressing times such as when their salaries werenβt being paid, has been unwavering.
Every time they have had their backs against the wall, Sauber has come back fighting.
Alfa Romeo Racing will retain the staff, many of whom have been with Sauber since the beginning, as well the ownership and management.
In other words, the outfit will remain Sauber in all but name.
Some say itβs a sad day, but itβs just another example of the team doing what it needs to do to succeed and fight in Formula 1.
Itβs the Peter Sauber way.
