The C44's design was led by James Key, who rejoined the team after his dismissal from McLaren. Key took over from longtime Sauber designer Jan Monchaux in August 2023, inheriting a design that Key described as a clean sheet, sharing only select elements with the preceding C43. For the first time, the C44 utilized an in-house transmission casing for its customer Ferrari gearbox. The car featured a new pull-rod front suspension, a design Key had previously used at McLaren, and incorporated new downwards-sloping sidepods with tight packaging. Following an FIA investigation into the C42's crash at the 2022 British Grand Prix, Sauber adopted a more conventional A-shape design for the C44's roll hoop and air intake, moving away from their unique previous designs.
Following the end of Sauber's naming rights partnership with Alfa Romeo, the team announced a new title partnership with the online casino Stake. The C44's chassis naming rights were sold to Stake's streaming subsidiary, Kick, leading to the adoption of Kick's branding and a change in the team's name in jurisdictions where gambling sponsorships are prohibited.
The C44 made its initial track debut at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during a promotional filming exercise, followed by its public debut at official preseason testing at Bahrain International Circuit.
After preseason testing, a new front wing was developed and deployed at the third round of the season, the Australian Grand Prix. However, this development was overshadowed by a significant issue with lightweight wheel nuts introduced on the C44. This new design cross-threaded the team's wheel guns, resulting in pit stop times exceeding thirty seconds, which effectively eliminated the C44 from contention for points in the early races. A new ground effect floor introduced at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix did not deliver the expected performance improvements, causing the car to fall towards the back of the grid. In the first seven rounds of the season, the C44's best result was an eleventh-place finish, and it did not threaten for points. Its best qualifying performance was a Q3 appearance in Shanghai, where Bottas qualified tenth.
New rear and beam wings introduced at the Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix failed to improve performance. This prompted the team to revert Zhou Guanyu's car to an early-season specification to help diagnose engineering correlation issues. During this period, both drivers publicly expressed concerns about the C44's tire management capabilities, noting difficulties in bringing tires up to the required operating temperature in both qualifying and race conditions. Shortly after the summer break, team owner Audi AG publicly stated that the team's performance was "unacceptably poor." Pundits suggested that the team's struggles might have stemmed from Audi's focus on the 2026 championship and internal executive conflicts that led to Seidl's dismissal from the team during the summer break. From the Monaco Grand Prix to the Dutch Grand Prix, the C44's best result was thirteenth place on three occasions, and it continued to struggle for points.
The C44 experienced an aerodynamic breakthrough at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, where a fundamentally redesigned floor geometry, including changes to floor fences, leading edges, and the rear diffuser, was introduced. Both cars reached Q2 during qualifying, with Zhou finishing thirteenth on merit, ahead of competitors from Aston Martin, Williams, and RB. At the subsequent round in Qatar, the C44 achieved its only points finish of the season, with Zhou Guanyu securing eighth position. At the final round at Yas Marina, the C44 made its only other Q3 appearance, with Bottas qualifying ninth. At the end of the season, the C44 participated in Pirelli tire testing at Yas Marina Circuit with new drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.