Written by Meghana Sree, Edited by Hugh W
After much anticipation, Sauber have officially revealed the team’s new name as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber for the 2024 Formula One season, following the publication of the FIA entry list on Friday, 15th December.
Alfa Romeo initially partnered with Sauber in 2017, and in 2019, they took over the team to enter F1 with the name ‘Alfa Romeo Racing’.
Now, with Audi coming into the team for 2026, Sauber will return to their former identity, under the name Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber.
With the announcement of this new identity, Sauber Motorsport Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi commented:
“Sauber has always been about innovation, breaking the mould and defying convention.
“The partnership with Kick.com is the latest and boldest display of the philosophy that drives us. Kick.com is redefining the way live streaming is done and they will adopt the same disruptive approach in the world of Formula 1."
According to Bravi, a huge boost is needed in the team’s functioning before Audi’s 2026 takeover. He earlier stated: “We have started transforming our organisational structure to become a works team, and this is impacting all the departments including the technical and commercial side. [...] We have put a lot of actions to work already towards our race to 2026.”
The new Sauber outfit aims to build the groundwork for Audi’s entry into F1, and to close the gap to the top teams. This transformatory period will be pivotal in understanding the team’s operations and working towards improvement, as evidenced by significant people such as former McLaren Technical Director James Key joining the team.
Alunni Bravi stressed upon the team’s goals by stating: “It’s not a limbo period, we build our future here and now, it’s not that there is a separation between the Sauber period and the Audi period.”
Additionally, Alunni Bravi revealed that Sauber will launch their 2024 car in the UK – a first for the team which has a history of previous launches exclusive to their home country, Switzerland, or Germany.
After a 2023 season upset by reliability issues, few points-finishes, and a plummet from sixth in the Constructors’ standings last year to ninth this year, Sauber with a new guise will hope for a turn of fortunes, as they set their eyes on a big future ahead.
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