End of Alfa 'mega deal' as Sauber evolves into Audi F1 team

Alfa had a brilliant deal by any standards. The Milanese company wasn’t the first manufacturer to back someone else’s car package, as for example Infiniti and then Aston Martin did just that with Red Bull. But Alfa managed to turn what was a straight sponsorship deal when it started in 2018 into badging the whole car.

The fact that Alfa and power unit supplier Ferrari are historically part of the same wider family leant some legitimacy to the exercise. But Alfa got a mega deal because they got the car name at a bargain price, as Sauber sources are not shy of pointing out.

The team needed the money and was willing to sell the chassis name relatively cheaply essentially because Alfa was a sexy badge with which to be associated, and which obviously helped to attract other sponsors. It worked for both parties.

However early last year it became increasingly apparent that Sauber would be hooking up with Audi for 2026. It thus became obvious that the Alfa deal had a limited lifespan, and it was agreed to end it after just one more season in 2023.

There’s no doubt that Alfa is a little frustrated to be losing its toehold at the top level of the sport, as it has gained a lot from its temporary and bargain-basement return.

Realistically if it wanted to stay in 2024 the only option would be to move to Haas, the only other Ferrari-engined team. However it’s pretty obvious that car naming rights are not up for grabs there, and an Alfa deal has little appeal for Haas.

Meanwhile the transition to the Audi era has already started in Hinwil, with former McLaren boss Andreas Seidl – a man well versed in the VW Group having previously run the Porsche LMP1 programme – coming in as CEO. His brief is to build up the team over the next few years before the name over the door is changed at the end of 2025.

Given the fuss over Audi’s arrival and the recent announcement that the first part of the purchase of Sauber shares had gone through it was interesting to witness a little cameo at a pre-launch Alfa event in Hinwil, the week before the official unveil.

Alfa CEO Jean-Philippe Imperato, something of a larger-than-life character who is never afraid to speak his mind, made his feelings clear. The first thing he did when he took to the stage was to call up Seidl, who was lurking at the back of the room as part of his policy of maintaining a low profile for the time being.

“The first time we met this morning,” said Imperato as he greeted the German. “It was absolutely not organised like that, but welcome on board, Andreas.

“And this morning we had a meeting to say, hey, guys, we don’t know each other. But the only thing we know is that from now until the last lap at Abu Dhabi 2023, we will fight for performance.

“So all the bullshit around, get out! We are here to be in the best level of performance possible from Bahrain to the end of Abu Dhabi. And I can tell you that it is a decision in terms of behaviour we took this morning.”

“We will do everything to deliver the very best for Alfa Romeo”

A sheepish Seidl then found himself responding with positive comments about his new job and the Alfa relationship when he hadn’t been planning to speak in public for a few months.

It was a slightly awkward situation, but nevertheless a real statement of intent from Imperato – ‘don’t forget you’re still Alfa Romeo for the time being’.

He needn’t have worried, of course. Neither Sauber nor Audi gain anything from treading water either during this last Alfa year or the two neutral ones that follow.

Whatever the name of the car the team has to fight as hard as it can in every area in order to be in the best possible shape as it arrives in 2026. At that point all will pretty much depend on the form of the new Audi power unit, which will be created and developed at the company’s Neuberg facility over the next three years.

As such one would expect that Alfa can only benefit over the course of this season as the operation gradually gathers momentum, extra resources pay off, and Seidl’s input starts to have an impact.

“Alfa Romeo will be with us for the sixth season and will be a very important season,” Sauber MD and team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi said at the launch.

“We started in 2018, and Alfa Romeo has been instrumental for the growth of the team. Not only because we have been able together to attract partners, but also to be credible, to show what is our long vision as Sauber.

“So this season is super important. We will do everything to deliver the very best for Alfa Romeo, for our partners. We are delighted to bring the red colour, this is the Alfa Romeo red colour, on the car.

“So it’s not the last season, it’s a season that we complete this journey together, and we want to finish on a high.”

Benefits of Audi F1 deal are already being felt

Certainly Valtteri Bottas, who would dearly love to still be on board in 2026, believes that Audi’s involvement can only be beneficial.

“I think first of all for everybody in the team and at the factory what is really positive is that everything seems really stable,” said the Finn.

“And there’s almost like a concrete base for the team, that everything for the future, whatever happens with names and stuff, is looking good. And with Alfa Romeo still one more year with the team, I think the best is just to focus on this year.

“And obviously it’s really a shame to see Alfa Romeo leaving the sport, because I think it’s a great brand. And it should belong in F1. But it’s what it is, there’s always changes happening in the world.

“And then we see with the rest after this year, whether it’s going to be Sauber, that’s not going to actually change anything in the structure of the team, it just changes the name. That’s it.

“And then knowing the support from Audi will be coming is only a positive. So we don’t really have to worry about those names, or anything like that. So I think everyone is in a good situation.”

Audi team reunites BMW Sauber veterans

There’s a lot of synergy within the whole project. Seidl worked with the BMW Sauber team on the engine side until 2009, as did Audi’s motor sport supremo, Adam Baker. Audi’s F1 director of partnerships, communication and business affairs Guido Stalmann was also at BMW Sauber back in the day.

They can all no doubt recall the pros and cons of how that particular Hinwil/Bavaria relationship worked, and they can now put that knowledge to good use with the new partnership.

On Sauber’s side sporting director Beat Zehnder comes with a similar memory of the BMW era, having been with the team since its Mercedes sportscar days.

Then there’s current Alfa/Sauber technical director Jan Monchaux, who previously worked on the hugely successful Audi LMP1 programme. Prior to that he was at the Toyota F1 team, so he knows the potential pitfalls of a manufacturer-led organisation.

It’s important to note that Seidl hasn’t relinquished the team principal role because he wants to distance himself from Alfa. His job is to build up the factory and the wider Sauber Group, including its technology business, and as such he can’t commit to the nitty gritty of attending 23 race weekends.

“What we have decided together with Andreas is to change the organisational structure of the team in order to respond to the complexity of all the tasks that each team is facing now,” said Alunni Bravi.

“There is not only one structure that you can have for an F1 team. And so we decided to split the functions between the different person, different profiles on track and off track. I will be the team representative, meaning that I will [work] together with Xavi Pujolar, our head of track engineering, together with Beat Zehnder, our sporting director.

“But I will have different functions from them. I will represent the team vis a vis the FIA, F1 and of course, with the media and the sponsors. We will work as a team. I think this is important, and I think that this structure will help to address in a better way all the tasks that we have ahead of us. Simply a different structure.

“Efficient is the key word. It’s not just a matter of being efficient in the workshop, we need to be efficient on track, we have internal processes that we have, of course, agreed altogether and I think this will be the difference.”

Alfa finished sixth last season, and that could be hard to improve upon, given that fellow “midfielders” Alpine and McLaren were a long way ahead. The team also has less wind tunnel time and CFD usage than those who finished behind, which could be costly, so it will be interesting to see how the C43 fares this year.

“We don’t want to fix targets,” says Alunni Bravi. “It’s always difficult ahead of the season to know where we stand, where our competitors will stand. What we want to do clearly is to continue our growth. We want to address all the weaknesses and to work to improve our team in all areas.”