Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo, Milan, 2022

Alfa Romeo to split from Sauber after 2023 season amid Audi deal rumours

2023 F1 season

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Alfa Romeo have confirmed they will end their partnership with Sauber, which runs their Formula 1 team, at the conclusion of the 2023 season.

Sauber have raced under the identity of Alfa Romeo since the start of the 2019 season and recently extended its branding deal with the Italian manufacturer into the 2023 championship.

However Audi has announced today it will enter F1 in 2026 as an engine supplier to as as-yet-unnamed chassis constructor. Sauber is widely rumoured to be the team Audi intends to link up with.

Alfa Romeo owner Stellantis issued a statement today confirming it will end its partnership with Sauber following the conclusion of the 2023 season.

“Alfa Romeo announced its return in F1 in 2017 with a long-term plan, and in July 2022 has announced the decision to continue its partnership with Sauber also for 2023, given to the promising results of the first half of the season, both in terms of performances, marketing and positive collaboration with the team,” Alfa Romeo said.

“Since the economic and industrial turnaround of the brand will be achieved in 2022, Alfa Romeo will now evaluate among the many opportunities on the table, and decide which will be the best one to sustain the long-term strategy and the positioning of the brand.”

The 2019 season marked Alfa Romeo’s return to the Formula 1 grid for the first time since 1985. Over the subsequent three-and-a-half seasons, the team have scored a combined total of 129 points, achieving eighth place in the constructors’ championship twice before falling to ninth in 2022.

The team changed its driver line-up for the 2022 season, replacing both Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi with Valtteri Bottas and rookie Zhou Guanyu. Alfa Romeo currently sit sixth in the constructors’ championship on 51 points, 16 ahead of Haas and 44 behind fourth-placed McLaren.

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Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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12 comments on “Alfa Romeo to split from Sauber after 2023 season amid Audi deal rumours”

  1. Looking forward to Alonso joining Audi in 2026 with a 5 year plan

    1. lol, made my day!

    2. 50 will be the new 30!

  2. What is going to happen to Sauber in 2024 and 2025 then? Audi are not supplying engines until 2026. Will they continue to run Ferrari engines but be branded Audi? Or just be branded Sauber?

    1. @phil-f1-21
      Sauber’s engines haven’t had a special branding since 2005 with Petronas. Even though Alfa Romeo was their title sponsor, they never branded the engines Alfa, only Ferrari.
      Audi might bring some new sponsors to Hinwil though, even before their actual entry in 2026.

    2. @phil-f1-21
      There is already a rule in place that enables the FIA to force a manufacturer with the fewest customers to supply a team that needs an engine. In this case, Sauber will run Renault that supplies only Alpine power units if they find themselves with no engine in 2024. I don’t know however in case of ties between manufacturers and a team still needs an engine…

  3. Audi is taking over the Title sponsor in the mean while and it doesn’t mean they are NOT having Ferrari engines just a rebrand deal untill they have their own engines.

  4. There is still the option for Stellantis to come to its senses and sell that brand to Audi.

    1. @proesterchen why would Stellantis want to split Alfa Romeo out and more importantly, why would Audi want it?

      1. Volkswagen/Audi tried to buy Alfa a couple of times last decade, and with their portfolio basically shrinking and (then) FCA neither willing nor able to provide the funding needed, they had a plan to take over Alfa and build it out using resources from all over Volkswagen.

        Alfa would fit nicely with Audi and its other Italian holdings, Lamborghini and Ducati.

  5. Alfa Romeo Haas from 2024.

    1. So we might have 2 Saudis and 2 Alfhaas.

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