Sauber’s 6 greatest moments in Formula 1

A points-scoring debut

Sauber made its debut at the South African Grand Prix in 1993. The C12 took its name as a numerical continuation of Sauber’s sportscar designs, while the ‘C’ was borrowed from Peter Sauber’s wife, Christine. In their black and white livery, barely blemished by sponsors’ logos, the cars looked sharp.

And in Sauber’s rain-soaked first race, JJ Lehto, who had made his F1 debut in 1989, was able to bring the car home in sixth place to score two points. While the rest of that first season was plagued with reliability problems, both Lehto and team-mate Karl Wendlinger did consistently finish in the points when they made full race distance. The pair’s efforts were enough to see Sauber finish seventh out of 12 Constructors’ Championship entries in the team’s debut year.

Frentzen claims a first podium

German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen first arrived in F1 a year the Sauber joined, and in 1994 he became the team’s number one driver by default when team-mate Wendlinger suffered head injuries after a crash at the Monaco Grand Prix. He was out for the remainder of the season, leaving the German to assume the role of lead driver in his rookie year. 

After a year learning the ropes, a debut podium for both driver and team was achieved with a third place at the 1995 Italian Grand Prix, a race that had its fair share of incidents. David Coulthard spun out of the formation lap, and the dust he left on the circuit caused a first-lap shunt that led to a restart. The race was one of attrition, with multiple retirements including front-runners Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher, who tripped over back-marker Taki Inoue.

It all meant that Frentzen was able to translate tenth on the grid to a first trip to the podium. By the end of its third season, Sauber had earned its best-to-date points tally of 18.  

Räikkönen arrives in F1

At the 2001 Australian Grand Prix, a young Finn by the name of Kimi Räikkönen made his F1 debut with a mere 23 motor races to his credit. Yet despite the paucity of experience, Sauber knew he had talent. 

In a 2000 test, the future World Champion posted lap times half a second faster than regular driver Pedro Diniz on only his second day in the car. Fearful of other teams catching on, Sauber referred to Räikkönen internally as ‘Eskimo’, foreshadowing the ‘Iceman’ nickname he would later earn for his cool, collected demeanour.

That characteristic was evident from the off. If rumours are to be believed, Räikkönen was asleep 30 minutes before his first F1 race started in March 2001. Starting from 13^th on the grid, he battled his way to sixth before the chequered flag came out. He had secured a championship point in his very first F1 race — the first of many.

Kubica scores Sauber’s only ever victory

Motorsport and fortune go hand in hand. In the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, Robert Kubica had a big shunt that took three wheels off his car and left him unconscious at the scene. Twelve months later, he stood on the top step of the podium having claimed Sauber’s only ever race victory. What’s more, he was followed home by team-mate Nick Heidfeld for a historic 1-2 finish for the Swiss team.

Kubica spoke of breaking asphalt on the track surface after qualifying, meaning he took some unconventional lines in order to place his Sauber F1.08 second on the grid behind the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. In the race, strategy would play a big role for all teams. An early safety car meant it was impossible for those on a one-stop strategy to switch to two.

Fortunately for Sauber, it had options: Kubica was on a two-stop strategy while Heidfeld was on a one-stop. While both drivers went into the race with a theoretical chance of winning, the German’s chances would have to be sacrificed for the Pole’s. And so it transpired. Kubica took the victory – a first (and only) for him, and a first (and only) for the team.

Pérez storms from 12^th to second

For the 2012 Italian Grand Prix, Sergio Pérez put his Sauber C31 in 12^th place on the grid. Hardly the kind of stuff that makes F1 history, but it is his performance after the lights went out that secures the spot in this list.

Starting on hard tyres for a long first stint, Pérez was able to pick off his rivals and climb his way through the order before his belated pitstop. And his ascent through the ranks continued after the swap to medium tyres. The Lotus of Räikkönen proved difficult to pass, Pérez losing the place back to the Finn before regaining it for good. Michael Schumacher was passed when he pitted, and a drive-through penalty for Sebastian Vettel gifted him another place.

Pérez guided his Sauber around the outside of Fernando Alonso at Ascari for second place, and then he was closing in on race leader Lewis Hamilton. So much so that McLaren saw Pérez as a big enough threat to ask the Brit to up his pace. It was too much for ‘Checo’ in the end, he crossed the line just five second in arrears of the winner, but after such an impressive charge through the field he couldn’t have been too disappointed to finish runner-up.

Rookie Leclerc makes his mark

Monaco-born Charles Leclerc made his F1 debut with the Sauber team in 2018, and he arrived with Championship-winning form. He had already won the GP3 Championship in 2016 and the Formula 2 Championship the following year, both of which were his rookie seasons.

Hopes were high, then, for his first F1 seat. The Sauber C37 wasn’t necessarily the best machine on the grid, but Leclerc lived up to the high expectations that surrounded his first season in motorsport’s top formula. Rightly so. He claimed 39 of the team’s 48-point haul. Compare that to the paltry five points the team bagged on season prior.

Leclerc’s first points-scoring race was also his best finish of the season. At the fourth round of the season in Baku, he put his car in the right place to capitalise on a chaotic race and came home in sixth place. He went on the achieve another nine point-scoring finishes that year, and although Sauber finished a lowly eighth in the Constructors’ Championship, Leclerc almost single-handedly increase the team’s points haul tenfold compared to the previous year.

The Monégasque’s rise through the ranks had been rapid and gold-plated; his performance in his debut season with Sauber was enough to swiftly secure him a Ferrari seat for 2019.

The 2025 Festival of Speed takes place on 10^th-13^th July. Friday and Saturday tickets are now sold out, but Thursday and limited Sunday tickets are still available.

Images courtesy of Getty Images.