The last time Sauber scored points in the Formula 1 world championship was just over a year ago, on October 8, 2023, when, under the name Alfa Romeo, the team had placed his two cars in the points at the Qatar Grand Prix. Since then, the Swiss manufacturer has not been particularly successful, with the Hinwill team being the only one not to have scored points this season.
Today, Sauber is on hold, while most investments are dedicated to the arrival of Audi in 2026, when the new regulations will come into force. But even then, the race for championship success will continue, as investments in the team’s facilities in Hinwil continue to grow.
Current board member and team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi is well aware of this, having seen the resources that manufacturers like McLaren and Aston Martin have devoted to their new facilities. The Italian, whose future with the team remains unknown as Jonathan Wheatley will take over most of his duties when he becomes team director, says all the strengths the structure has can be improved.
“We have seen a change in the management structure over the last 18 months, both on the Audi and Sauber side”said Alunni Bravi. “So I think there has been a clear review of the project, a realignment of the objectives according to the task before us.”
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“I have always been convinced that the challenge of Formula 1 is completely different from that of any other motorsport category. And of course we have a lot of work ahead of us to catch up with our competitors. We need to improve our numbers, our facilities, our technology and our tools. But we knew that.
“I think today we understand better what we need, not only to improve, but also to become a winning team. And with Mattia’s experience [Binotto]and the commitment of [Gernot] Döllner, CEO of Audi, I think they share a clear vision of the trajectory of this team, of what is needed.”
“If you look at the investment made by McLaren, they decided to build a new wind tunnel. At Aston Martin, in the last three and a half years, they built a new factory, a new wind tunnel, a new simulator, they expanded staff, recruited the best – Adrian Newey being the latest.”
Mattia Binotto, Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber
Photo par : Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“So it’s not just that Sauber has to progress to become a factory team. It’s that Formula 1 has never stopped developing, it’s never stopped improving, in all aspects. areas, in terms of technology or in terms of personnel. This is something that we must also do.
Binotto’s arrival brings the team the stability it needed, given the Swiss-born Italian’s previous involvement with Ferrari. His signing ended the feud between Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann, which was beginning to affect Audi’s progress behind the scenes. According to Alunni Bravi, Binotto’s work is not only about 2026 and the future, but also about strengthening the team in the short term, so that next season starts on a much better footing.
“We are building a team together, and I think it is very important to put solid foundations in place now”he said. “And the fact that Mattia was at Monza is a clear sign that his commitment is not only for the future, we need to show progress now in order to be competitive in the future. He has full responsibility for the sporting success of the team, and the sporting success starts now, not in 2026. That’s why we are building the foundations now.”
Mattia Binotto himself says it is essential to change the mindset of those already working at Sauber, accustomed at best to mid-pack results in recent years, to one hungry for victories . Like Alunni Bravi, he talks about taking “the right decisions”he recalls his experience at Ferrari, particularly at the time when Jean Todt was recalibrating the team from a perennial underachiever to a dominant force in the early 2000s.
Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44
Photo par : Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“We know that we are starting from a small entity. We need a clear transformation of the company from a cultural mindset point of view, but also in all other aspects”explained Binotto. “And we just have to take it step by step, make the right decisions, look for the right solutions and have a clear goal in front of us in a few years to really become a winning team at the Formula 1 benchmark.”
“There is full support, I was convinced by the project and I am fully convinced that [notre destin] is in our hands. I think it is very difficult to estimate time [que cela prendra]to indicate the time that must be devoted to it. The gap is significant, that’s for sure. It is important in terms of the number of people working on site, facilities, resources available, and tools. “
“It’s about the details, no matter how you look at it, there’s something different from what I’m used to. But for me, it’s great. It’s great because I know I have a benchmark in mind. I think that will definitely help the project in terms of what we should be doing, and then it’s about how we can do it as quickly as possible. I think the benchmarks are clear. We set our priorities, because we can’t do everything at once.”
