Sauber has been part of the Formula One fraternity since 1993, yet the 2016 season was one of the most trying in their 24-year stay in the sport. Through hard work and dedication, however, the Swiss team battled to comeback from the brink of near collapse.
As this year dawned, it was no secret that the Hinwil-based team were struggling for cash, they turned up to the first test in Barcelona with the 2015 car as work on the new C35 wasn’t finished in time.
After the first test, Sauber was third in terms of miles completed but when it came to the second test, they were ninth in the list after four days with the new car baring the early teething issues that often occur, this was a sign of things to come.
The first few races were a struggle, their best two results came with Marcus Ericsson finishing 12th in Bahrain and Spain, but Felipe Nasr was struggling to keep up with his teammate in the early stages of the season.
By Monaco, there was a genuine fear that the team may not finish the season. They had decided not to appear at the two-day test after the Spanish Grand Prix and team principal Monisha Kaltenborn was notably missing from some of the races in attempts to help look for financiers to keep the team afloat.
The race in Monte Carlo was a real low point for the team as both drivers collided with each other at Rasscasse, causing a repair bill the team could have done without.
Still without a point heading into the middle point of the season, Nasr had his best result at the European Grand Prix in Baku, with another 12th place finish for the team.
But when Pascal Wehrlein finished in 10th place at the Austrian Grand Prix, gaining a point for the Manor team who Sauber were fighting with, it would have been like a stake driven into the heart of the team as Manor had taken 10th place in the Constructors’ championship and they would stay there unless the Swiss outfit could score points too.
By the time the summer break came around, Sauber finally found some luck. After long-rumoured investment talks, the team had finally found a buyer, Longbow Finance.
They would buy the outfit outright but the Sauber name would remain. Peter Sauber, the founder of the team, would be leaving, but his hard work in creating the team would not be forgotten. Kaltenborn was to be kept on in her team principal role.
Still without a point as the season resumed at Spa, the struggles were becoming real, despite the new investment from Longbow, if the team had finished eleventh, the prize money would be drastically reduced as a result.
Also it would mean Sauber could face finishing last in the Constructors’ standings for the first time in their history, something the team would very much like to have avoided on their prestigious record.
At the Italian Grand Prix, Nasr collided with Renault’s Jolyon Palmer in an avoidable incident early on which caused the team embarrassment afterwards.
Kaltenborn jumped to Nasr’s defence in saying: “One should try to stick to the facts and not just see things you want to see. We didn’t even think we could get a penalty because it was so obvious. I cannot understand how they could penalise him because he was clearly in front.
“There’s no way he could have been looking at the back at what’s going on, and he didn’t push the guy out in any way whatsoever, but he gets penalised. I didn’t understand what the basis for that was, but fine, it’s happened.”
Sauber’s performance into the latter stages of the season began to improve, most notable was Ericsson’s very impressive drive to 11th place in Mexico. After being punted off at the first corner leaving him facing the wrong way, the Swede managed to make his way back to pits and preceded to complete the next 70 laps on one set of tyres.
At the sodden and hectic Brazilian Grand Prix, just two weeks after Ericsson’s impressive drive, Nasr delivered what would be the most important result of his and the team’s year as he finished ninth, securing two extremely valuable points. This meant Sauber would jump ahead of Manor in the standings and finish 10th to secure that major leap in prize money.
While the 2016 season had been a far cry to what the team was once capable of just a few years ago, the Swiss team proved that you can battle back from the brink and survive.
The rebuilding work at the team is very much underway with the investment from Longbow Finance. Key engineer signings within the team included the likes of race strategy engineer Ruth Buscombe from newcomers Haas F1, a new head of trackside engineering, Xevi Pujolar from Toro Rosso and former Audi WEC technical chief Jorg Zander.
On the driver side, the team are retaining the services of Marcus Ericsson while numerous names have been linked to the second seat. Mercedes junior Pascal Wehrlein and GP2 star Antonio Giovinazzi have been mentioned while Felipe Nasr’s involvement is in doubt due to his sponsor Banco Do Brasil withdrawing their support from their countryman.
After all the ups and downs, Sauber is here to stay in the world of Formula One and will not be leaving anytime soon, a relief for many involved in the sport.
What happened since 2016?
Sauber did survive, but not in the same form. The Longbow rescue gave Hinwil the oxygen it needed, before Alfa Romeo’s involvement transformed the team’s public identity from 2018 and then fully into Alfa Romeo Racing from 2019. That era brought periods of stability, flashes from Charles Leclerc, Kimi Raikkonen, Antonio Giovinazzi, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, but not a sustained return to the sharp end.
The bigger twist came when Audi chose Sauber as the base for its Formula 1 entry. After the Alfa Romeo naming deal ended, the Sauber name briefly returned, but the direction of travel was clear: the Swiss team that had been fighting to avoid collapse in 2016 became the platform for a full manufacturer programme.
By 2026, the old Sauber operation had become Audi Revolut F1 Team, still based in Hinwil and racing with Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. The team that once needed Nasr’s Brazil points to protect its future is now central to one of F1’s biggest works-team projects.
