A new name for the Sauber team in Australia

The announcement of the new name of the Sauber team at the beginning of the year had left many F1 observers perplexed. With two sponsors attached to the team’s name founded by Peter Sauber, this new name was far from unanimous.

Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber thus became the official name of what was called until last year Alfa Romeo F1 Team. For the sake of simplicity, this name had been shortened before the start of the season. The team led by Alessandro Alunni Bravi thus competed in the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grand Prix under the name Stake F1 Team.

The Australian legislation regarding the promotion of sports betting and gambling sites being strict, Sauber will not be able to showcase the name Stake in its branding, as its specialty is online casino. The Swiss team will therefore highlight another title sponsor in Melbourne, as it will be known as Kick Sauber F1 Team, named after a video streaming service.

The principal team of the team that will be called Audi from 2026 is counting on the upcoming race to finally open the points tally in the championship.

After Jeddah, we went back to work in Hinwill to analyze what had not worked so far and how to improve. As a positive point from the first two races, we noticed that we had a strong race pace. We still need to improve our performance over one lap to be able to start higher on the grid, and the improvements we are making in Australia should help us in this regard,” the Italian said. “We see how tight the field is, and we are ready to fight to score points.”

Winner in 2019 in Melbourne at the wheel of a Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas is excited to return to the Albert Park circuit.

It’s a really nice circuit and I’ve always enjoyed driving there in the past. I won there in 2019 so I have good memories and I am even more motivated to bring back a good result. If we start the weekend on the right foot, I am confident that we can fight for points with our competitors.

The Finnish teammate, Guanyu Zhou, shares Bottas’s excitement, especially as he will be able to rely on the local Chinese community.

It’s good to be back in Melbourne where I have good memories from the past two years. The Chinese community here is significant, and I can feel their support coming from the stands. It will be a preview of what awaits me in Shanghai in just one month. I am looking forward to getting back on track this weekend.

With Williams, Racing Bulls and Alpine, Sauber is one of the four teams that have not yet scored any points this season.