Each of the team's cars, with the exception of cars built by BMW Sauber, were designated a number proceeded by the letter C to honor Peter Sauber's wife, Christiane. The first Sauber car, the C1, was built in his parents' garage to compete in the 1970 Swiss Sports Car Championship. The team debuted in FIA competition with the Sauber C5, which competed in the 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Sauber C9, the team’s most successful sports car, won two consecutive world endurance championships and brought Mercedes back to the World Sportscar Championship as Team Sauber Mercedes. After Group C endurance regulations ended, Sauber entered Formula One independently despite a failed attempt to build a joint project with Mercedes. From 1993 to 2005 the team operated as a private constructor, becoming well known for introducing young talent including Heinz Harald-Frentzen, Kimi Räikkönen, and Felipe Massa. Sauber also pioneered many technological innovations which later became standards, such as high cockpit side walls, longitudinally-mounted gearboxes, and the twin keel front suspension.
Sauber was purchased by BMW in 2005 and raced as BMW Sauber F1 Team from 2006 to 2009. The team achieved its best Formula One results during this period, winning the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix and finishing second in the 2007 World Constructors' Championship. However, the global financial crisis forced BMW to sell the team after the 2009 season, after which Peter Sauber reacquired his eponymous team for one euro.
As an independent constructor again from 2010 to 2025, the team purchased customer Ferrari power but struggled financially. Peter Sauber sold his controlling stake in the team to Finn Rausing in 2016, who reorganized the team's leadership and cancelled the team's confirmed engine switch to Honda. In 2018 the team signed a title sponsorship agreement with Alfa Romeo, and Sauber raced as Alfa Romeo Racing and later as Alfa Romeo F1 Team until 2023.
Peter Sauber built the C1 in his parents' garage to compete in the 1970 Swiss Sports Car Championship, powered by a 1.0L Cosworth engine. The C2 iterated on this original design, increasing engine power to 1.6L and taking Sauber's first three race wins in domestic hillclimbing. The 2.0L Cosworth-powered C4 introduced Sauber to continental competition, winning one race in the 1975 European 2-Litre Sportscar Championship. The C5 was designed for the step up to Le Mans for 1977, leading the Group 6 class before retiring in both 1977 and 1978, but it did deliver Sauber's first championship, winning the 1976 Interserie Championship with Swiss driver Herbert Müller.
After a one year racing hiatus as a Lola F2 chassis builder, Sauber entered two cars in the 1980 BMW M1 Procar Championship, achieving three consecutive pole positions with Marc Surer and Manfred Schurti. With a radically redesigned frame and substantially less weight, the BMW M1 Sauber won the 1981 Nürburgring 1000km with Hans-Joachim Stuck and Nelson Piquet.
Sauber then stepped up to Group C prototype racing, partnering with Swiss firm Seger & Hoffmann to design the Sauber SHS C6. The car's distinctive 'whale tail' rear wing and the BMW M88 power unit delivered Sauber a fifth place finish in the 1982 World Sportscar Championship for Manufacturers. The C7 was built as an iteration of the SHS C6, debuting at the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans and finishing ninth overall, disrupting Porsche’s dominance.
After Mercedes-Benz expressed an interest in returning to sports car racing, Sauber retired the BMW-powered C7 and adapted the chassis to take the Mercedes M117 turbocharged V8 power unit. Racing as Kouros Racing Team, the C8 won the 1986 Nürburgring 1000km with Henri Pescarolo and Mike Thackwell. The C9 was built around the upgraded Mercedes M119HL engine, and under full factory support as Team Sauber Mercedes, took five wins in the 1988 World Sportscar Championship. Jean-Louis Schlesser, Jochen Mass, and Mauro Baldi drove C9 No. 61 to victory in the season-opening 800km of Jerez. Sauber dominated the 1989 World Sportscar Championship, winning all but one race and winning the World Sports Prototype Championship for Teams. Jean-Louis Schlesser won the driver's championship with five wins, leading a Team Sauber Mercedes top-four lockout of the driver's standings. At Le Mans, Sauber locked out the front row and finished first, second, and fifth overall. The C11 was due to replace the C9 for the following season, but a longer development timeline required it to race the season opener for 1990, after which the C9 was retired.
In 1990, the team switched its race numbers to Nos. 1 and 2. Sauber introduced a Junior Team, signing Michael Schumacher, Karl Wendlinger, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The team dominated the championship again, winning all but one race for a second consecutive season and winning the 1990 Team's World Championship. Jean-Louis Schlesser defended his driver's crown, named co-champion with teammate Mauro Baldi. The junior drivers won two races in 1990, with Wendlinger joining Jochen Mass to win at Spa-Francorchamps and a season finale win for Schumacher at Mexico City.
Sauber-Mercedes struggled to adapt to Group C's regulation changes for 1991, which mandated 3.5L Formula One-style engines. The new C291 took the bespoke Mercedes M291 flat-12 engine, but struggled with reliability. The team won only one race in 1991, slipping to a distant third in the team's championship. The team pushed ahead with a radical aerodynamic redesign for 1992 with the C292, but Mercedes pulled its support on financial grounds during testing. The stillborn C292 never raced.
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