Fred Vasseur, Alfa Romeo F1 chief executive, said maintaining Alfa Romeo’s support was “critical” to Sauber’s position in Formula 1.
Sauber is one of the longest-serving outfits in Formula 1, and it was launched for the first time in 1993. Since then he has been involved in several partnerships and worked as an independent team.
From 1995 to 2001, the Red Bull Sauber team competed in the series with Red Bull’s title sponsorship, while from 2006 to 2010 it was known as BMW Sauber. During this time, the team achieved their only race win at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix courtesy of Robert Kubica.
Returning to an independent outfit, Sauber later teamed up with Alfa Romeo to become known as Alfa Romeo Sauber in 2018, before becoming Alfa Romeo from 2019 under the sponsorship deal.
And towards the end of 2020, Alfa Romeo confirmed that they would continue their relationship with Sauber for at least another year.
Vasseur didn’t want to go into the financial aspects of the deal, but said it was “critical” to Sauber’s continued involvement in Formula One.
“That is crucial for us,” he told Motorsport.com.
“I don’t want to talk about the financial side of the matter, although it certainly does matter. But it’s also the motivation a team gets and the fact that you can attract more people and let the company grow for the future. We need that kind of inner motivation.
“The fact that Alfa Romeo, the first world champion in F1 history, wants to expand our collaboration with us is not only a reward, but also the next step for our company.”
In addition to their joint work on the track, Sauber and Alfa Romeo are also involved in other projects outside of Formula 1, such as the Alfa Giulia GTA and GTAm road vehicles.
“We also work together in the automotive sector, which is a good collaboration for us. We developed GTA and GTAm in our factory and in the wind tunnel for 2020, ”explained Vasseur.
“It is important for us to develop this type of cooperation, even if it is outside of Formula 1. Of course we know that we also have to improve our performance on the track. We not only have to improve our aerodynamic development, but also our global approach. However, the automotive side is crucial if you want to build collaboration between a brand and a Formula 1 team. “
With the support of Alfa Romeo, Sauber has also become an important partner for Ferrari as a kind of B-Team. He helped develop the current Ferrari star Charles Leclerc, who spent a season at Sauber in 2018 before joining the red team.
Antonio Giovinazzi, also part of the Ferrari program, will contest his third season with Alfa Romeo in 2021.
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