Sauber renamed Alfa Romeo Racing for 2019 season
- Published on 01 Feb 2019 10:31
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Sauber has officially been renamed Alfa Romeo Racing for the 2019 Formula 1 season. Alfa Romeo joined the Swiss squad as a title sponsor twelve months ago as it started its revival through the F1 field.
Although it started the 2018 campaign towards the back of the field, successful development saw it end the season with arguably the fourth fastest car, as Charles Leclerc took three seventh-place finishes at the final three rounds of the year.
The team will run with an all-new line-up as Leclerc and Kimi Raikkonen swap seats at Alfa Romeo and Ferrari respectively. Raikkonen will be joined by Ferrari junior Antonio Giovinazzi, who makes his full-season debut.
A statement read: "The 2019 Formula One World Championship will see two of the most historical brands in motorsport - Alfa Romeo and Sauber - return to circuits across the globe with 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen and the young Italian Antonio Giovinazzi driving for Alfa Romeo Racing, formerly referred to as the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team.
"Just one year after it was founded on the 24th June 1910, Alfa Romeo made its debut in an official competition, winning the first Regularity Race in Modena. Since then, its sporting legend has been a string of victories and top-three finishes in many international championships, including Formula 1.
"In 2019, the cars of Alfa Romeo Racing will sport the time-honoured four-leaf clover emblem that since 1923 has identified the fastest Alfa Romeo models.
"The long-term partnership between Title Sponsor Alfa Romeo and Sauber was initiated in 2018. Over the past year, the Team made continuous progress and finished the championship in 8th place.
"The term of the collaboration has been further extended, with the ownership and management of Sauber remaining unchanged and independent. As Alfa Romeo Racing, the goal continues to be the achievement of ambitious results at the pinnacle of motorsport."
Alfa Romeo Racing team principal Frederic Vasseur added: "It is a pleasure to announce that we will enter the 2019 Formula One World Championship with the Team name 'Alfa Romeo Racing'.
"After initiating the collaboration with our Title Sponsor Alfa Romeo in 2018, our team made fantastic progress on the technical, commercial, and sporting side.
This has given a boost of motivation to each team member, be that track-side or at the headquarter in Switzerland, as the hard work invested has become reflected in our results. We aim to continue developing every sector of our team while allowing our passion for racing, technology and design to drive us forward."
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Replies (14)
Login to replymaalibu
Posts: 17
Get the desing right and the rest leave Kimi.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Indeed. A motivated Kimi is very exciting to watch. My watchlist: Leclerc, Kimi, Russell, Kubica. Dont care who wins the championships anymore.
maalibu
Posts: 17
A good call, but dont forget the battle Hulk vs Danny!
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I had wished for them to retain the Sauber name, but it was only a matter of time before the change would happen.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
I think it's mostly a sad day Sauber was really the last of the great legacy privateers in the sport as others have disappeared of prostituted themselves. The Alfa Brand is a great onem with rich history. However, today's Alfa is more of a little brother to Ferrari than the proud Alfa's from the 50's and 60's. But it will all be fine as long as they don't become another Ferrari B. An embarrassment like Toro Rosso with Red Bull. A team that has no aspirations of winning anything and exists only to serve their master.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Indeed, but we shouldnt fool ourselves. In many regards, Sauber is basically another STR: bound to be a kinda test mule for Ferrari to get more data, while always being doomed to do worse than their suitor. But, as I've said before, at least lady Sauber and lady Haas get to reside in the halls of the steed and get to wear all kinds of pretty dresses. They actually even get to be seen with senior Ferrari when he is out on his business errands.
dr002
Posts: 141
It doesn't seem logical that Fiat would use Alfa Romeo branding on a car used as a test mule, why would they bastardise one of their key brands, it doesn't make sense, HAAS perhaps, but surely Fiat wouldn't want the Alfa Romeo brand up there as an unreliable mid field rambler, surely?
And what about Ferrari's previous chief designer Simone Resta who as of May last year is Sauber's new technical director, surely he wouldn't go from being chief designer of Ferrari to head of a test mule outfit?
Though I agree Alfa will likely be used strategically to support Ferrari, as it seems that Kimi is ok with being a wing-man to his good old mate Seb..... who seems to needs all the help he can get.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I dunno, I find it pretty reasonable. Ferrari is their main team, it'll be the team they'll put their main efforts and funds into. It makes sense to then have Sauber as a kinda test mule to further their main team's goals without hindering them in their race against Mercedes. Once they get to beat Merc', that situation could change, but until then thats the way I see it. They wont be sacrificed quite as badly as STR was this year, in part because mistress Sauber is still a bit independant from the his prancing horsedness, and in part because they are running the same PU, but Im sure Sauber will to some extent be a test platfform on the chassis side of things. At the very least, they will probably share as much data as they are allowed to, as will Haas.
Xtreme
Posts: 53
That's very nice. Now let the season begin. Can't wait....
denis1304
Posts: 284
Sauber > BMW > Sauber > Alfa Romeo > Sauber > ???
Lotus4Ever
Posts: 26
AMG Sauber
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I find another switch unlikely now that Alfa has more or less taken over the team. And Ferrari/alfa is far more committed to F1 than BMW ever was.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Exciting development. Hope, their livery won't disappoint.
Bhurt
Posts: 320
That's sad