Sauber tease ‘surprise’ new team name after Alfa Romeo split

Sauber will be splitting from Alfa Romeo as of the end of 2023.
Sauber team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi has said the team’s new name might come as a “surprise” when it is announced.
He also confirmed the Swiss-based team will break from tradition and launch their 2024 car in the UK, having first entered the sport back in 1993.
Bravi revealed that the team’s new partners are in place, subject to approvals, and will be revealed when the FIA’s entry list is announced for the 2024 season on Sunday 10 December.
Sauber tease ‘surprise’ with 2024 name change
After spending the last five seasons partnered with Alfa Romeo, the team confirmed their split ahead of the majority takeover by Audi, which is due to come into effect for the 2026 season.
This will make them another factory team in Formula 1 with Audi preparing their own power unit for the 2026 engine regulations, with the team initially widely thought to have been reverting back to the Sauber name for 2024 and 2025.
That could still be the case with the team boss not divulging the new name, but he heavily hinted that a title sponsor will be involved.
Bravo’s latest comments come after he teased last month that “there will not [be] just one title partner next year,” sparking suggestions that Sauber could follow the template of Aston Martin who count both Aramco and Cognizant as title sponsors.
“On the 10th of December, as soon as the FIA will publish the entry list that we will of course announce the new team name,” Bravi said at the weekend’s Autosport Awards.
“I think [it] will be a surprise, and we cannot wait to start the partnership with our new partners.
PlanetF1.com recommends
Alfa Romeo reveal next motorsport destination after departing Formula 1 grid
F1 2023 predictions revisited: A Nyck de Vries clanger and an apology to Williams
“We will have, I think, a really fresh approach in terms of communication marketing and we will do a launch of the car here in the UK.
“This year, we concluded our successful partnership with Alfa Romeo. And for 2024 we will, of course, have a different team name.
“As you know, in Formula 1, the team name is also the pending foreign commercial partnership. We don’t want to disclose anything more tonight.”
The Sauber Group is still set to retain a minority shareholding in the team once Audi’s majority takeover is complete in 2026.
Their entry is part of a wider competitive push for more factory teams in Formula 1, with Aston Martin signing an exclusive power unit deal with Honda from that season, along with Red Bull Powertrains set to come into operation in earnest at that time in their upcoming partnership with Ford.
Read next: F1 2023 conclusions: Max Verstappen’s rivals facing last chance against F1’s newest all-time great