2020 will be a special year for the Sauber Group, as the company celebrates 50 years since the establishment of Sauber Motorsport. The team has planned a slew of initiatives to mark this important milestone and to commemorate the achievements, history and success of one of motorsport’s and Formula One’s most beloved independent outfits.
Founded on the 15th of May, 1970, and officially registered five days later, as the brainchild of Peter Sauber, the eponymous organization first established itself on the national and international hillclimb scene before moving to track racing. Success quickly followed at the highest level, with what had by then become a team claiming back-to-back World Sports-Prototype Championship in 1989 and 1990 alongside a 1-2 in Le Mans in 1989.
In 1993, the jump into Formula One immediately brought results, with JJ Lehto scoring on debut and the team finishing an impressive seventh in their maiden campaign. Behind the wheel, a healthy mix of quick drivers and young talents such as Kimi Räikkönen, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Jacques Villeneuve, Sebastian Vettel and many more ensured the team went from strength to strength. Fourth in the Constructors’ standings in 2001 represented a high point, before the team, racing as BMW Sauber, challenged for the top spots in the championship in 2007 (P2) and 2008 (P3), a year in which Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld produced a 1-2 triumph for the team in the Canadian Grand Prix.
Returning to its original ownership in 2010, Sauber remained a fixture in the Formula One landscape: a maker of unique cars and home of talented drivers, such as Sergio Perez, Nico Hülkenberg and Charles Leclerc, among others. A new ownership brought stability and the potential for growth and, since 2017, the team, now under the stewardship of Frédéric Vasseur, kept going from strength to strength. In 2019, the team contributed to bringing the historical Alfa Romeo name to the Formula One grid and, in 2020, with Räikkönen and Italian talent, Antonio Giovinazzi, behind the wheel, it entered the Formula One championship as Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN.
To mark the anniversary, Sauber Motorsport will publish exclusive content including special features looking back at 50 years of history, videos and retrospective galleries and interviews with the men and women who played a key role in this half a century of racing.
Media credits: Sauber Group / Sauber Motorsport
