Vettel during F1 debut with BMW Sauber — Photo: © IMAGO

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Iconic F1 team LEAVE sport

Sauber are leaving the sport

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 5 December 2025 21:21

For one Formula 1 outfit this weekend at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it is their last race as an F1 constructor.

2026 will see the introduction of one completely new F1 constructor in Cadillac, but also one power unit supplier who are taking over a team currently on the grid.

Audi will complete their takeover of Sauber at the end of 2025, ending the Hinwil-based outfit's participation in the sport.

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Much of the current team will stay the same, with Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto staying on as Audi drivers for 2026 and team principal Jonathan Wheatley set to take them into the new era.

Sauber have been issuing their final farewells to fans on social media throughout the weekend, posting to Instagram to reveal that it is their last race under the Sauber name.

The presence of one of the world's biggest car manufacturers in F1 is exciting for the sport, but F1 fans will be sad to see Sauber disappear from the grid.

How long have Sauber been in F1?

Sauber - under various different guises - have been in the sport since 1993, when Peter Sauber led the eponymous team into the 1993 South African Grand Prix.

Since then, they have competed as BMW Sauber, Alfa Romeo and their current name Kick Sauber, boasting a host of household names including Sergio Perez, Kimi Raikkonen, Jacques Villeneuve and Sebastian Vettel.

Charles Leclerc also completed his rookie season with the Hinwil-based team, back in 2018, before moving on to Ferrari.

Their best result in the constructors' championship was when Vettel, Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica competed for the team in 2007, finishing second in the constructors' championship, although they had half the points tally of victors Ferrari.

The reason for the various name changes throughout the years has been various commercial partnerships, including with current sponsor Kick.

Why are Sauber leaving F1?

Sauber are leaving to make way for Audi, who will complete their takeover of the team ahead of 2026.

The takeover was announced all the way back in 2023, before it was revealed to be a 100 per cent takeover in March 2024.

There will be 11 teams on the F1 grid in 2026, however, with Cadillac entering the sport as well as the first fully new constructor since Haas in 2016.

What's Sauber's greatest achievement in F1?

As previously mentioned, Sauber managed to finish as high as second in the constructors' championship in 2007 when they were BMW Sauber, and also finished an impressive third in 2008.

But their greatest achievement has to be their one and only race victory, when Kubica led them to success at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.

Their radical car design in 2008 made them into genuine title contenders, particularly at the start of the season, but they did fall away as the season progressed.

Overall, however, 2008 saw them claim that race victory and nine podiums in what was an impressive feat.

After 2009, BMW withdrew from the sport and sold the team back to Peter Sauber, who is actually at the track this weekend for the team's final race as an F1 constructor.

Current team principal Wheatley said ahead of the weekend that he's looking to pay tribute to the 30 years of the Sauber name being in F1 at the Abu Dhabi GP.

"We arrive in Abu Dhabi still fully motivated for the final race of the season," he told media. "It’s been a long, demanding season, but also one where we have strengthened as a team and built a way of working we can be proud of.

"Nico’s podium in Silverstone proved what we’re capable of when we perform at our very best, and watching Gabriel growing and developing in his rookie season has been a real positive. There are still important points to race for, and the team is fully committed to be in the battle until the very last corner. Beyond the race itself, it's an emotional moment as we achieve another milestone on the way to Audi’s arrival in 2026.

"In the final race for Sauber, we want to pay respect to the legacy of the team born out of Peter Sauber’s dream: we want to honour everything it stood for across three decades in Formula 1 and over fifty years in motorsport, and finish in a way that reflects this incredible story."

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Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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