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Sauber last scored Formula 1 championship points exactly a year and a day ago when, as Alfa Romeo, it bagged a double top-10 finish at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Since then, its reversion to the Sauber brand name has not been particularly conducive to success; the team is the only remaining outfit to remain point-less this season. Pitstop delays in the early season and a lack of performance gains with its modest development curve have effectively left the team treading water at the back of the grid.
Sauber currently sits in a holding pattern while investment goes towards preparation for 2026, when the team will become the works Audi outfit. Even then, the pursuit of championship success will remain a work in progress as investment into the team’s Hinwil facilities increases.
This is something that current board member and team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi is well aware of, noting the resources that the likes of McLaren and Aston Martin have put into new facilities.
The Italian, whose future at the team remains unknown as Jonathan Wheatley will assume most of his duties when he comes in as team principal, says that every asset the team has in Switzerland has room for improvement.
“We have seen a change in the management structure in the last 18 months, both from the Audi side and Sauber side,” Alunni Bravi reflected.
“So I think that there was a clear revision of the project, realignment of the targets according to the task that we have ahead of us.
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber at the Press Conference
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
“I was always confident that the challenge in Formula 1 is completely different from any other motorsport category. And of course, we have a lot of work ahead of us to catch up with our competitors.
“We need to ramp up in terms of staffing, in terms of facilities, in terms of technology, in terms of tools. But we knew this.
“I think now there is a more accurate understanding of what it needs – not [only] to improve, but to become a winning team. And with the experience of Mattia [Binotto, Sauber’s COO/CTO], the commitment of [Audi CEO Gernot] Dollner, I think that they share a clear vision about the trajectory of this team, of what is needed.
“If you look at the investment made by McLaren, they decided to do a new wind tunnel. At Aston Martin, what they’ve done in the last three years and a half, in terms of new factory, new wind tunnel, new simulator, increase of the staff, appointment of top guys – Adrian Newey is the latest edition.
“So it’s not just that Sauber needs to improve to become a factory team. It’s that Formula 1 never stopped developing. Never stopped improving. All the areas, in terms of technology, in terms of staff. This is something that we also need to do.”
The addition of Binotto adds much-needed gravitas to the team, given the Swiss-born Italian’s prior involvement with Ferrari. His signing removed the quarrelling between Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann, which was starting to affect Audi’s progress behind closed doors.
Mattia Binotto, CEO and CTO, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Alunni Bravi says that Binotto’s work does not simply concern 2026 and beyond, but will also help shore up the team in the short term to ensure next season starts on a much better footing.
“We are building a team all together, and I think it’s very important to put solid foundations in from now,” he said. “And the fact that Mattia was in Monza is a clear sign that his commitment is not just for the future, but we need to show progress from now in order to be competitive in the future.
“He has a full responsibility and accountability for the sporting success of the team, and the sporting success starts now, not in 2026. So we are building the foundations now.”
Binotto himself says that changing the mindset of those already at Sauber, who have been used to midfield results at best in recent years, to one hungry for victories is of paramount importance.
Like Alunni Bravi, he speaks of making “the right decisions”; he remembers his experiences at Ferrari, particularly in the period when Jean Todt was recalibrating the team from a perennial underachiever to the dominant force in the early 2000s.
“We know that we are starting from a small entity. We need a clear business transformation from the cultural mindset point of view, but in all the aspects,” Binotto explained.
Mattia Binotto, CEO and CTO, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber, Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44, in the garage
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“And we need to simply, step by step, take the right decisions, look for the right solutions and have a clear objective ahead of us in a few years’ time to become really a winning team at the benchmark for Formula 1. There is full support, I’ve been convinced by the project and fully convinced that it’s in our hands.
“I think judging the time, indicating the time it’s worth is very difficult. The gap is important, certainly. It’s important in terms of number of people working there, of facilities, what you’ve got available, the tools.
“It’s about all the details – whatever you may look at, there is something which is different compared to what I was used to.
“But for me, it’s great. It’s great because I know I have a benchmark in mind. I think that will certainly help the project in terms of what should we do, and then it’s a matter of ‘How can we do it as fast as possible?’
“Today, I think the benchmarks are clear. We are setting our priorities because you cannot do it all in one.”
