Just seen this on the Autosport site: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80357 This part interested Me in particular: However, Stefan GP's chief Zoran Stefanovich has made it clear that there is no truth to the speculation linking his outfit with Toyota's actual entry even though his outfit could yet make use of Toyota's 2010 car design for its own plans. Based on that information, surely Toyota's vacant spot should go automatically to Sauber as that's what the FIA decreed when they made Sauber the first reserve team?. Stefan GP seem to be under the impression that they stand a good chance of getting it instead though.
According to Blick's Benoit the Stefan GP is a done deal: Toyota will gift its factory and team to Stefanovich so he can race the team in 2010. This will save Toyota from paying a $ 150 million dollar fine to the FIA for violating the Concorde Agreement. While that eliminates the 13th spot for Sauber, it is virtually assured that they'll be given a 14th spot at the FIA's meeting in Monaco.
As I said, according to Benoit's Blick. He often portrays rumors as facts. That said, it now makes sense why there were reports about Toyota continuing on their 2010 car and the workers showing up for work regularly.
I have to ask . . . is this serious, or are you just having fun with us. If it is real, then I think that kraftwerk and drive550pfb should form a team called "kraftdrive F-1." I can get Mika Hakkinen to drive, and I can get this guy from Dubai to fund it. (Oh, wait, I think his loan was just called.--OK, where is Peter Windsor when you need him.)
The latest update on autosport: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80368 Peter Sauber say's he's very optimistic about an entry for 2010 and that the cars development is well underway thanks to excellent co-operation from Ferrari.
I thought it was a joke myself until I read the reports. Stefan GP might be the new name for Toyota to avoid the $ 150 million fine from FIA.
Here's an interview with Peter Sauber on the official FIA Formula 1 website: http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2009/11/10247.html It's starting to sound more promising that Sauber will be on the grid next year.
Sauber entry confirmed by FIA http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pressreleases/f1releases/2009/Pages/f1_sauber.aspx
Why is BMW still mentioned? I thought is would just be Sauber or Sauber-Ferrari...?? Great news regardless.
I think Sauber's purchase was contingent on getting an entry so the formal entity that pending the sale has been granted the entry is still BMW Sauber Ag which will then be renamed on completion of the sale
Peter Sauber: "I would keep Kimi Raikkonen" Racing stable founder Peter Sauber talks about today's Formula 1 and explains why, in his opinion, the hybrid route is wrong. The Swiss would definitely keep the 41-year-old Kimi Räikkönen. Former racing driver Peter Sauber made Sauber Motorsport AG in Hinwil out of a small sports car team from the 1970s, brought Mercedes back to motorsport at the end of the 1980s, won Le Mans and entered Formula 1 in 1993. In 2016, the now 77-year-old from Zurich sold his life's work to the Swiss investment group Longbow, which later agreed with the Fiat / Chrysler group first on sponsorship with Alfa Romeo and then on the new team name “Alfa Romeo Racing”. Peter Sauber has not lost his interest in racing and usually attends a few Grands Prix each year. What the Swiss thinks of today's Formula 1, he says in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com. Mr. Sauber, do you still watch Formula 1 on television? Yes of course. I've been away from the company for a good four years, and I no longer have any shares. But it's difficult to part with something you've done with all your heart for years. I follow Formula 1 closely on television and have the detailed times and dates of the Formula 1 management on my screen. If you have been used to that for years, you can read a lot from it. What do you currently like about Formula 1, what do you dislike? That is difficult to answer. I've been associated with Formula 1 for almost 30 years and there have always been ups and downs. One always wanted to reduce the technology, lower the costs, balance the field. Usually after a change it got worse than before. If you wanted to do something cheaper, it got more expensive. Mistakes were made there. For example? The whole hybrid campaign. Renault actually instigated it, Mercedes had to go along with it, and today everyone would be happy if these engines didn't exist in this form. These enormous costs, which will only partially go down with the upcoming budget cap, are the main problem. It hurts that a traditional team like Williams doesn’t disappear, but no longer belongs to the founding family. Will the future be better? That is hard to say. I see the future critically, even if Formula 1 has always survived difficult times. There is a lot of money involved. We are in a difficult phase. The exit of Honda, ultimately for financial reasons, shows the problem. The main problem remains the distribution of funds, even after the reform. The smaller racing teams are still getting too little. In other series, for example in the USA, distribution is more fair. When you look back on your time as a team principal and owner, what would your conclusion be? Did everything right, or would you have solved this and that differently? My career in motorsport lasted almost 50 years. In retrospect, you would probably do a lot differently. But you can't judge it that way. So today I would say: Yes, I would do it again, even if mistakes were made. What has always amazed us: Why didn't a Swiss team succeed in attracting major Swiss sponsors in this rich country apart from Credit Suisse? That's a fair question. The Swiss have a split relationship with the automobile. Nowhere else will you find so many luxurious cars as in Switzerland. The Swiss love their car. But when it comes to standing up for it, he doesn't stand up for it. Maybe that has an impact on the boardrooms of the companies. The fact that Credit Suisse was with us for many years was only due to the then CEO Oswald Grübel. Otherwise it would never have worked. The fact that UBS is now a partner of Mercedes was also because of Oswald Grübel, who became UBS boss after Credit Suisse. Other large companies such as ABB, today the title sponsor of Formula E, showed no interest, not even the private bank Julius Baer, which is also involved in Formula E. The boss at the time would have liked to come to us, but Formula 1 was ultimately too expensive. Hypothetical question: If you were still team boss, would you sign Kimi Räikkönen for 2021 20 years after joining Sauber? Kimi is a safe bet. If he has a chance to take something he continues to be a fighter and fast. He is very valuable to the team, I know that from employees. He works hard with the engineers and is also a regular at the racing car factory in Hinwil. How can Alfa Romeo and Sauber move forward? Is it just missing from the Ferrari engine? In terms of chassis, the team is on par with Ferrari. Charles Leclerc is a top driver there. If he's a little further ahead, it's the driver and not the Ferrari. The handicap of Alfa Romeo and Sauber is the engine. Not that much is missing from the midfield with AlphaTauri, McLaren, Renault. With a few more horsepower, the picture would be different. Still, the car has room for improvement. https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://www.speedweek.com/formel1/news/167339/Peter-Sauber-Ich-wuerde-Kimi-Raeikkoenen-behalten.html&prev=search&pto=aue
That's an interesting question and answer. He feels Leclerc's skill is the primary differentiator between Ferrari and Alfa Romeo's current performance. All the best, Andrew.
Pretty apt this thread got resurrected after 11 years right on the day alfa renewed Sauber’s sponsorship, but for just 1 year. Mr Sauber might need to take possess of his team once again pretty soon
If the Ferrari engine was halfway decent I think they'd be doing pretty good....definitely regular point scorers and the occasional top 7 finish.
I don't think so. You have to be in the first 10 to score points, and Sauber/Alfa is not among them most of the time. It's a mediocre team.
Apparently the 2021 Ferrari engine is giving good results on the test bench so hopefully they will be more competitive.
Its more than the engines, though that must be 50% of it. The drivers are a low talent wanna-be and and over the hill used to be. Alfa is just a petrie dish for Ferrari. And it helped Ferrari dump Kimi with some face saving all around. You could drop Alfa, Haas, and Williams from the lineup and never miss them, especially when you were lapping them. Seven teams and 14 cars would be more than enough. The others are just filler, like bread crumbs in meatloaf.