Each car produced by the team — with the exception of those built under BMW ownership — carried a designation beginning with the letter C, honouring Peter Sauber's wife, Christiane.
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 increased engine power to 1.6L and took the team's first three race wins in domestic hillclimbing. The C4, powered by a 2.0L Cosworth unit, brought Sauber to continental competition, winning one race in the 1975 European 2-Litre Sportscar Championship. The C5 was built for Le Mans in 1977 and, while it led the Group 6 class before retiring in both 1977 and 1978, it delivered Sauber's first championship by winning the 1976 Interserie Championship with Swiss driver Herbert Müller.
After a one-year hiatus as a Lola F2 chassis builder, Sauber entered the 1980 BMW M1 Procar Championship, achieving three consecutive pole positions with Marc Surer and Manfred Schurti. When the Procar series folded, a heavily modified BMW M1 Sauber — with a redesigned frame and substantially less weight — won the 1981 Nürburgring 1000km with Hans-Joachim Stuck and Nelson Piquet.
Sauber then stepped into Group C prototype racing. The Sauber SHS C6, designed with Swiss firm Seger & Hoffmann, earned a fifth-place finish in the 1982 World Sportscar Championship for Manufacturers. The C7 debuted at the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing ninth overall and notably disrupting Porsche's dominance with the 956 in the top ten — the same car later immortalised in Porsche's "Nobody's perfect" advertisement.
After Mercedes-Benz expressed interest in returning to sports car racing, Sauber adapted the C7 chassis to accept the Mercedes M117 turbocharged V8. Racing as Kouros Racing Team under a Yves Saint-Laurent title sponsorship, the C8 won the 1986 Nürburgring 1000km with Henri Pescarolo and Mike Thackwell. The C9 was built around the upgraded Mercedes M119HL engine; in 1987 it set a Le Mans lap record with Johnny Dumfries driving. In 1988, Mercedes provided full factory support and the team became Team Sauber Mercedes, with Jochen Neerpash and Max Welti as team directors and AEG-Olympia as primary sponsor.
In the 1988 World Sportscar Championship, the C9s took five wins. Jean-Louis Schlesser, Jochen Mass, and Mauro Baldi won the season-opening 800km of Jerez, but the team finished second overall after being forced to withdraw both cars from the 24 Hours of Le Mans on safety grounds following two high-speed tyre blowouts in practice.
Sauber dominated the 1989 season, winning all but one race and taking the World Sports Prototype Championship for Teams with nearly double the points of second-placed Joest Racing. Jean-Louis Schlesser won the drivers' title with five wins and led a top-four lockout of the driver standings. At Le Mans, Sauber locked out the front row and finished first, second, and fifth overall. The C11 was developed to replace the C9 for 1990 but required additional development time; after a one-two finish at the 1990 season opener proved its pace, the C9 was retired.
For 1990, team leader Beat Zehnder introduced a junior programme, signing Michael Schumacher, Karl Wendlinger, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen as part of the No. 2 car programme. Sauber again won all but one race, claiming the 1990 Teams' World Championship with over double the points of Silk Cut Jaguar. Schlesser and Baldi were named co-champions on equal points. Junior drivers Wendlinger and Schumacher each contributed race wins — Wendlinger at Spa-Francorchamps and Schumacher at Mexico City. The team did not contest Le Mans in 1990 as it was a non-championship round.
For 1991, regulation changes mandated 3.5L Formula One-style engines. The new C291 took the bespoke Mercedes M291 flat-12 engine but struggled with reliability and ran alongside the C11 for much of the season. The team won only one race in 1991 before Mercedes withdrew support on financial grounds during 1992 development of the radical C292. The C292 never raced and Sauber withdrew its entry for the 1992 season.
Sauber intended to enter Formula One in direct collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, but the joint project was shelved. Mercedes instead funded an engine contract in which Ilmor V10 units were re-branded as Sauber power units. The new C12 tested extensively in 1992 across Lurcy-Levis, Barcelona, and an airfield at Zweisimmen. Experienced F1 driver JJ Lehto was paired with endurance alumnus Karl Wendlinger for the 1993 season.
On debut at the 1993 South African Grand Prix, Lehto qualified sixth and finished fifth, ahead of Gerhard Berger's Ferrari. A seventh-place finish in the 1993 World Constructors' Championship, ahead of Minardi and Jordan, established Sauber as a credible entrant. Mercedes added "concept by Mercedes-Benz" branding to the engine cover following impressive points finishes at San Marino, Montreal, and Monza.
For 1994, the team was renamed Sauber-Mercedes but regressed to eighth in the championship. Title sponsor Broker was found to be fraudulent and did not pay its obligations. Wendlinger was seriously injured after a practice crash at Monaco, requiring Andrea de Cesaris to stand in. Following Wendlinger's crash and the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger that season, Sauber re-engineered its cars with high cockpit side walls — a feature that later became mandatory across the sport. Mercedes left at the end of the year to join McLaren.
Sauber inherited Benetton's works engine deal with Ford for 1995 after Benetton switched to Renault. Entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz purchased a majority share and Fritz Kaiser joined as commercial director. Heinz-Harald Frentzen led the team to its largest F1 points tally at that point with eighteen points, and scored the team's first podium — third at the 1995 Italian Grand Prix. 1995 also marked the start of a long association with Petronas, who joined mid-season. In 1996, the team struggled with the uncompetitive new Cosworth JD V10, scoring only eleven points, though Johnny Herbert finished third at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix.
From 1997 to 2005, Sauber used Ferrari-designed customer engines and gearboxes built by Sauber Petronas Engineering, a company established solely for that purpose. Sauber licensed nearly every permissible part from Ferrari and had several Ferrari engineers on staff. The first podium with the Ferrari-derived package came at the 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix, followed by a third at the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix.
In 2001, Sauber brought Kimi Räikkönen into Formula One despite protests from influential figures including FIA president Max Mosley. His performances vindicated the decision; he later won the 2007 Drivers' Championship with Ferrari. Red Bull, which had wanted Enrique Bernoldi in the seat, sold its majority stake in the team to Credit Suisse in protest.
In 2004, Sauber invested in a new wind tunnel at Hinwil and a high-performance supercomputer to refine aerodynamics — infrastructure that later attracted BMW Motorsport. As the team's relationship with Ferrari weakened, it sided with non-Ferrari teams over proposed rule changes at the end of 2004 and joined the GPWC, also switching to Michelin tyres while Ferrari remained on Bridgestone.
Sauber secured a BMW engine deal from 2006, after which BMW agreed to take full ownership. The team's final independent race was the 2005 Chinese Grand Prix, where Felipe Massa, in his last race before joining Ferrari, scored a sixth-place finish.
BMW purchased Credit Suisse's shares at the end of 2005, with Peter Sauber retaining a 20% stake. The team was renamed BMW Sauber and held a German licence. Nick Heidfeld was re-signed from Williams, with 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve having his existing Sauber contract confirmed, and Robert Kubica signing as third driver. Petronas renewed title sponsorship. The new P86 V8 engine was built at BMW's Munich headquarters.
Heidfeld scored the team's first podium at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix from tenth on the grid. Kubica stood in for Villeneuve after an accident at the German Grand Prix and finished the season in his place, scoring a second podium at the Italian Grand Prix. The team finished fifth in the Constructors' Championship. The FIA banned a "twin towers" aerodynamic add-on the team ran at Magny-Cours, ruling it impeded driver vision.
Kubica partnered Heidfeld for 2007 with Sebastian Vettel as test and reserve driver. At the Canadian Grand Prix, Kubica suffered a major crash but escaped with a sprained ankle and concussion; Vettel replaced him for the US Grand Prix, becoming at that point the youngest driver to score a World Championship point. Heidfeld scored second in Canada. The team established itself as the best behind championship leaders Ferrari and McLaren, finishing second in the Constructors' Championship.
BMW Sauber launched the F1.08 at BMW Welt in Munich in January 2008. In Bahrain, Kubica scored the team's first ever pole position, beating Felipe Massa by under three hundredths of a second. At the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, BMW Sauber achieved a one-two finish — Kubica took his first race win and Heidfeld finished second — after Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen collided in the pitlane. This was the first Formula One victory for a BMW engine since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix. Development was subsequently shifted to the 2009 car, a decision that frustrated Kubica, who led the championship after Canada and believed the team could have challenged for a title.
Although BMW Sauber had targeted 2009 as a title challenge year, the season began poorly. After six races the team occupied eighth in the Constructors' Championship with only six points. A raft of upgrades was planned for Turkey, including an improved KERS system, but KERS could not be fitted and was ultimately abandoned. Following a BMW board meeting on 28 July, the company announced withdrawal from Formula One at the end of 2009 as a strategic decision. A prospective buyer, Qadbak Investments Limited, turned out to be a shell company. Peter Sauber subsequently reacquired the team for one euro.
Peter Sauber reacquired the team on 27 November 2009, conditional on receiving a 2010 FIA entry, which was confirmed in December after Toyota Racing's withdrawal. The team ran as BMW Sauber F1 Team for 2010 despite having zero BMW components, switching to a Swiss licence. Kamui Kobayashi and Pedro de la Rosa were the initial drivers, with Nick Heidfeld replacing de la Rosa for the final five races. Despite a blank livery for the first four races, the team eventually signed Burger King as a sponsor and finished eighth in the Constructors' Championship with 44 points in the second half of the season. Kobayashi's season-best was sixth at the British Grand Prix.
In 2011, Kobayashi was joined by Sergio Pérez. The team finished seventh in the Constructors' Championship. In 2012, Pérez finished second in Malaysia — the team's best result as an independent constructor — and the team achieved four podiums that year, including Kobayashi's first at Suzuka. Peter Sauber transferred ownership of a third of the team to CEO Monisha Kaltenborn, who later became team principal.
In 2013 Nico Hülkenberg and Esteban Gutiérrez drove for the team. The C32 was uncompetitive compared to its predecessor; the team finished seventh in the WCC with 57 points. In 2014, Adrian Sutil replaced Hülkenberg and the team failed to score a single point for the first time in its history.
For 2015, Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr were signed. The season was preceded by a legal dispute in which 2014 reserve driver Giedo van der Garde obtained an arbitration award upholding his contract for a 2015 race seat. Following an intervention reportedly involving Bernie Ecclestone, the dispute was resolved when van der Garde accepted a US$16 million settlement and relinquished his race seat. The team finished eighth that year, ahead of McLaren and Marussia.
On 20 July 2016, Swiss investment firm Longbow Finance acquired both Peter Sauber's and Kaltenborn's shares, with Pascal Picci taking the chairman role. Longbow's owners reportedly included Swedish billionaires Finn Rausing, Stefan Persson, and Karl-Johan Persson. That season the team scored only two points via Felipe Nasr's ninth-place finish in Brazil, finishing tenth. Kaltenborn stepped down ahead of the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, replaced by former Renault team principal Frédéric Vasseur.
In April 2017, it was confirmed Sauber would end the Ferrari engine deal and move to Honda; however, the Honda agreement was cancelled on 27 July 2017 for "strategic reasons," after which Sauber confirmed a new multi-year Ferrari deal. On 29 November 2017, Sauber announced a multi-year technical and commercial partnership with Alfa Romeo, renaming the team Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team for 2018 onwards. Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson drove in 2018; Leclerc departed for Ferrari at season end. The team scored 48 points in 2018, finishing eighth in the Constructors' Championship.
Kimi Räikkönen swapped places with Leclerc for 2019, joining Antonio Giovinazzi. The team competed as Alfa Romeo Racing from 2019, scoring 57 points and finishing eighth. A highlight came in Brazil where both cars reached the top five after a collision between Alexander Albon and Lewis Hamilton — Räikkönen finished fourth and Giovinazzi fifth. The 2020 season yielded only eight points; the 2021 season 13 points with Räikkönen missing the Dutch and Italian Grands Prix after testing positive for COVID-19, with Robert Kubica standing in.
After Räikkönen retired and the team elected not to retain Giovinazzi, Valtteri Bottas and rookie Zhou Guanyu drove in 2022 as Alfa Romeo F1 Team. Bottas achieved a best result of fifth at Imola; the team finished sixth in the Constructors' Championship — their best result since 2012. The driver pairing was retained for 2023. In January 2023, Alfa Romeo announced a title sponsorship agreement with online casino Stake, renaming the team Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake; in countries where gambling advertising was restricted, the Kick brand replaced Stake's logos. Vasseur departed as CEO; Andreas Seidl replaced him from January 2023.
From 2024, Sauber officially lost its Alfa Romeo sponsorship as it transitioned toward the Audi factory entry for 2026. The team entered as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, with Kick naming rights extending to the chassis — the 2024 car being named the Kick Sauber C44. Bottas and Zhou were retained. The C44 consistently finished outside the points; the team ended 2024 tenth with only four points.
For 2025, Nico Hülkenberg returned — arriving from Haas — alongside reigning Formula 2 Champion Gabriel Bortoleto. Jonathan Wheatley was announced as incoming Team Principal, replacing Alessandro Alunni Bravi, who departed at the end of January 2025. Mattia Binotto served as Team Principal in the interim before Wheatley joined on 1 April 2025. In February 2025, Sauber announced a new technical centre to be opened in Bicester at Bicester Motion. At the 2025 British Grand Prix, Hülkenberg finished third — his first podium in Formula One after 239 race starts, and Sauber's first podium since the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix.
On 26 October 2022, it was announced that Sauber would compete as the Audi factory team from 2026 using Audi's power unit, ending a sixteen-year customer engine relationship with Ferrari. In January 2023, Audi acquired a minority stake in the Sauber Group. On 8 March 2024, the Audi Group confirmed a full takeover. Former McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl was initially planned to continue as CEO and team principal; he was replaced by former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto from 1 August 2024.
In November 2018, Sauber entered a partnership with Czech team Charouz Racing System to form the Sauber Junior Team, followed by the creation of a karting team in March 2019. In 2020, Sauber relaunched the junior structure as Sauber Academy and parted ways with Charouz.
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