Sauber renamed Alfa Romeo Racing for 2019

[tommykl]

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/912404/1/ ... acing-2019

That's all folks.

[Nuppiz]

Well, it was to be expected at some point. Sad to see the name go but ultimately this should be better for the team in terms of finances and performance.

[dinizintheoven]

Haven't we seen this situation somewhere before...?

[dr-baker]

There is no way that this entity can be considered as a reject team come the Australian GP, is there? Either it is a continuation of the Sauber team, which unrejectified themselves in 1993, or a continuation of the Alfa Romeo team, which unrectified themselves in 1951. This ain't a new team.

[DemocalypseNow]

If it's still Sauber Motorsport AG as the company entity on the next FIA Entry List release rather than Alfa Romeo SpA, it's still Sauber. We'll see what the final-final entry list from the FIA looks like.

[mario]

If it's still Sauber Motorsport AG as the company entity on the next FIA Entry List release rather than Alfa Romeo SpA, it's still Sauber. We'll see what the final-final entry list from the FIA looks like.

It is being reported that the ownership and management structure of the team will remain unchanged, which suggests that the company name will potentially remain as "Sauber Motorsport AG". There is also ambiguity over whether the chassis name will be changed too - they would need the other teams to approve that change if they wanted to rename it - so it is possible that the chassis name might remain as "Sauber" too.

In answer to dr-baker's question, therefore, I'd say that the current reports point to this being a continuation of Sauber under a different name.

[Pacific Edge]

Alfa Romeo Sauber Engineering

Not an Alfa fan at all, guess I have to find a new favourite team for 2019 and 2020

[Waris]

If it's still Sauber Motorsport AG as the company entity on the next FIA Entry List release rather than Alfa Romeo SpA, it's still Sauber. We'll see what the final-final entry list from the FIA looks like.

It is being reported that the ownership and management structure of the team will remain unchanged, which suggests that the company name will potentially remain as "Sauber Motorsport AG". There is also ambiguity over whether the chassis name will be changed too - they would need the other teams to approve that change if they wanted to rename it - so it is possible that the chassis name might remain as "Sauber" too.

In answer to dr-baker's question, therefore, I'd say that the current reports point to this being a continuation of Sauber under a different name.

You can't remove Sauber from the team name and keep the chassis name the same, because there is some inane rule that says the chassis name has to be part of the team name. The sooner that is gone, the better. It led to the nonsense we saw last year, where Force India disappeared and was replaced by Force India.

As for my response to this news item, really, what do you want me to say? People get so worked up over a mere name change. It's not a different team. The change is even smaller than that from Minardi to Toro Rosso for 2006. Sauber didn't disappear, they'll still there, and when Alfa Romeo get bored and fed up with F1 like all manufacturers inevitably do at some point (except Ferrari so far), chances are it'll be Sauber again. I already voiced my thoughts on the new team name here: https://twitter.com/jaybeebrtweets/status/1091455660452126722

[Samster]

Yeah I'm still going to call them Sauber. Its really nothing more than a naming rights sponsor.

[novitopoli]

Alfa Romeo Sauber Engineering

Not an Alfa fan at all, guess I have to find a new favourite team for 2019 and 2020

Beside the pun, this name would sound dangerously close to the most awful byproduct of Alfa's banter era as a state-run taxpayers' money bonfire in the late 70's-early 80's (read: British Leyland, but with the occasional decent car).

[Faustus]

My then-flatmate had a Nissan Cherry for a while, when I was young and foolish. It was an awful car. Ah the memories...

[mario]

So, following a formal vote by the F1 Commission, the renaming of the team and the chassis as Alfa Romeo is now formally approved - it's slightly odd that they called the chassis "Alfa Romeo Racing" rather than just "Alfa Romeo", but that's by the by. The holding company, however, shall retain the name "Sauber Motorsport". https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/alfa ... e/4333443/

[Waris]

So, following a formal vote by the F1 Commission, the renaming of the team and the chassis as Alfa Romeo is now formally approved - it's slightly odd that they called the chassis "Alfa Romeo Racing" rather than just "Alfa Romeo", but that's by the by. The holding company, however, shall retain the name "Sauber Motorsport". https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/alfa ... e/4333443/

I really hope they keep the Swiss licence, too.

EDIT: Maybe "Ferrari" is just listed as the engine on the entry list and "Racing" is actually the rebadging of Ferrari, so they will show up as just "Alfa Romeo Racing" on the onscreen graphics.

[UncreativeUsername37]

EDIT: Maybe "Ferrari" is just listed as the engine on the entry list and "Racing" is actually the rebadging of Ferrari, so they will show up as just "Alfa Romeo Racing" on the onscreen graphics.

It'd be Alfa Romeo-Racing then... surely if they wanted an engineless name they'd just call the engines Alfa Romeos.

[Bobby Doorknobs]

I think it bears mentioning that Verstappen and Gasly will be driving "Red Bull Racings" and not simply "Red Bulls" this year. In fact, I believe that's what the 'official' chassis name has been from the beginning - certainly the past few years.

Although I would love "Racing" as an engine rebrand. It'd be the best thing since Megatron.

[Waris]

I think it bears mentioning that Verstappen and Gasly will be driving "Red Bull Racings" and not simply "Red Bulls" this year. In fact, I believe that's what the 'official' chassis name has been from the beginning - certainly the past few years.

Which is absolute bollocks and is due to a rule that a chassis name can't be the name of a brand. (Which makes you wonder, what about Benetton then? Maybe that's different because -- just like Haas -- it's also a family name). So in 2005 the chassis started being displayed as "RBR", but I guess Red Bull wanted more brand exposure and FOM said it was okay, but it had to show up as "Red Bull Racing" because that's not the name of a brand. I don't know when this change happened, I think in 2010 they were still showing RBR but I'm not sure about 2011.

None of which changes anything about the fact that general usage doesn't follow this inane FOM rule and everyone else refers to "Red Bull Racing" as "Red Bull" (and "MF1" as "Midland", and "MRT" as "Manor").

[Wallio]

I think it bears mentioning that Verstappen and Gasly will be driving "Red Bull Racings" and not simply "Red Bulls" this year. In fact, I believe that's what the 'official' chassis name has been from the beginning - certainly the past few years.

Wasn't that a BBC thing? In America we were always told that Red Bull had to add the "Racing" to the chassis because the BBC couldn't/wouldn't say "Red Bull" over and over because of their advertising rules. So by adding "Racing" it allowed the BBC to just say "RBRs" in reference to chassis. Over here they have always been "Red Bulls". Hell, Speed Channel kept calling Sauber well Sauber during the BMW days.

As for Alfa, the name is fine,but not badging the engines rally really annoys me. Like this years "Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda".

[Rob Dylan]

The fact that the new Aston Martin Red Bull team uses Honda engines and the Alfa Romeo team uses Ferrari engines but calls them Alfa Romeo engines, is the primary reason that I love this sport.

[Nessafox]

The fact that the new Aston Martin Red Bull team uses Honda engines and the Alfa Romeo team uses Ferrari engines but calls them Alfa Romeo engines, is the primary reason that I love this sport.

Well in the past we had the BMW-Sauber-Ferrari

[Waris]

The fact that the new Aston Martin Red Bull team uses Honda engines and the Alfa Romeo team uses Ferrari engines but calls them Alfa Romeo engines, is the primary reason that I love this sport.

I have not yet seen any confirmation of them rebadging the engine. Of course it makes so much sense that you would just assume they did, but the FIA entry list still lists them as Alfa Romeo-Ferrari, if I'm not mistaken.

[Klon]

I have not yet seen any confirmation of them rebadging the engine. Of course it makes so much sense that you would just assume they did, but the FIA entry list still lists them as Alfa Romeo-Ferrari, if I'm not mistaken.

In fact, it is Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari.

[Yannick]

My fandom of Sauber that started way back during an impromptu autograph session at the pitlane on the Thursday afternoon before the 1993 Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps and then being overtaken by none other than Peter Sauber himself with his driver JJ Lehto in the passenger seat on the way to the track on Saturday morning on a tiny side road, had come to and end when Kamui Kobayashi left the team years ago. That also coincided with the point in time when I stopped following F1 and only occasionally reading about it since then.
The renaming to Alfa doesn't help reigniting my interest. After all, their road car model Alfasud would roughly translate in my native tongue of German to a "decoction of Alfa". "Delicious", isn't it?
Yet, if they can repeat a 1950 season based out of Hinwil during one of the coming years, all hats would go off to them, including mine, except I don't really wear a hat.

[Fetzie]

Yet, if they can repeat a 1950 season based out of Hinwil during one of the coming years, all hats would go off to them, including mine, except I don't really wear a hat.

I would buy a hat for that.