Hello and welcome to F1 Livery Histories,
the channel where we take a look back at
the different paint jobs, racing trims,
and sponsor decals adopted by respective
Formula One teams throughout the eras.
Today we'll be taking a look back at the
fourth oldest constructor currently
competing in Formula One. A team which is
underwent numerous transformations
during a campaign which has now exceeded
25 consecutive seasons.
Sauber.
The team's
founder, Peter Sauber, built his very first
racing car in the year 1970, named the C1,
after his wife Christine. Sauber would even
pilot his own sleekly proportioned vehicle
to the Swiss Hill Climb Championship in
the same year.
Throughout the 1970's the
Sauber team would continue to produce
sports cars for various racing series on
an independent basis
Sauber Motorsport
would first under the Le Mans 24-hour
race in 1977, and later Formula Two in 1979.
In 1981 Hans-Joachim Stuck and Nelson
Piquet won the Nurburgring 1000
km race in a Sauber built BMW M1.
1985 would see the commencement of
Sauber's relationship with Mercedes-Benz
in sports cars, a partnership which would
eventually see Sauber installed as
Mercedes' official works team. Sauber would
claim victory at Le Mans in 1989 with
the Mercedes powered C9, piloted
by Jochen Mass, Manuel Reuter and Stanley
Dickens. Sauber Motorsport was also the
leading point scorer in the 1989 and
1990 World Sports Car championships.
In early 1992 Sauber announced their
preparations for an entry into Formula
One and established their base of
operations in Hinwil, Switzerland.
So begins our retrospective on the liveries
of the vastly colourful Sauber team.
The team made its first foray into
Formula One with the Leo Ress designed
C12 chassis, which came outfitted with an
engine built by Ilmor, in association
with Sauber long time engine partner,
Mercedes. This somewhat loose connection
between Sauber and Mercedes was signified
with a decal on the car's engine case
which read "concept by Mercedes Benz".
Tyres were provided to the team by
Goodyear, whilst Elf was signed on as the
team's official fuel supplier.
The C12 ame painted in jet black and featured
white front and rear wings.
The team distinguished each of its drivers with
red and yellow mirrors, a system which
had been employed by the team ever since
their sports cars days. The car also bore
a minimal amount of sponsorship, with
names such as Lighthouse, Liqui Moly,  Broker
and Joop, being among the few seen on
the car during season 1993.
Sauber would make an immediate impression in the
Formula One world, finishing in a
respectable seventh position in the
Constructors' standings in their maiden
Grand Prix series. The following year
Mercedes would increase their
involvement with Sauber, as the team
produced the C13, the first Formula One
car to run with Mercedes badged power
since 1955.
1994 also oversaw Castrol
becoming the team's fuel supplier, as
well as Broker becoming the team's
official title sponsor.
Broker were
joined by watchmakers, Tissot, car care
products brand, Sonax, and real estate
company, Harvard. The car also featured
numerous grey, white and red polka dots,
which varied in size, scattered along
the car.
This combination of colours would become
regarded as Sauber's official racing colour
scheme, whilst simultaneously paying
homage to the team Swiss roots.
Following
the 1994 season Sauber would lose the
longtime patronage of Mercedes to
McLaren, leaving the team to re-emerge in
season 1995 with a new engine partner
and title sponsor.
In 1995 energy drink brand Red Bull began
their enduring association with Formula
One, by becoming the new title sponsors
of the Sauber team. The new C14 chassis
came outfitted with factory Ford power,
and boasted a new navy blue livery,
devoted to their major partners. Red Bull
was seen prominently in bold text upon
the side pods, whilst the company's
charging bull logo graced
either side of the cars airbox.
The C14
was also the first of a procession
of Sauber cars to run with Petronas
fuels, as the Malaysian state-owned oil
company was seen on the rear wing.
In
1996 Petronas' company colour of teal was
added to the livery, which saw the side
pods of the C15 devoted to Petronas and
integrated into the rest of the livery
with a gradient effect.
Red Bull's logo
was now also seen upon the very tip of
the cars nose, a design element which
would become a staple for all Red Bull
sponsored Formula one cars for years to come.
This was also the season Sauber
first ran with red driver numbers.
Season 1997 saw the team parting with Ford and
entering a long-term partnership with
Ferrari. The team received a supply of
Ferrari engines, which were rebadged as
Petronas power units. Sauber and Petronas
were gone to found Sauber Petronas
Engineering, a company devoted to
developing engines for the Sauber F1 team,
as well as developing engines for super
bikes and customer road vehicles.
The C16 also ran with additional sponsorship
from Silicon Graphics and Catia Solutions.
The C17, produced for the 1998 season,
ran with a livery featuring a much more
contoured amalgamation of Petronas' teal
with Red Bull's deep blue. The car's rear
wing was also recoloured in Petronas'
company colour, whilst a small Swiss flag
was seen on the top of the monocoque.
In 1999 the team switched to Bridgestone
rubber with the introduction of the C18.
The team had signed driver Pedro Diniz,
who brought along with him sponsorship
from Pamalat, which saw the rear wing of
the car recoloured blue and devoted to the
Italian consumables brand.
Petronas'
teal now took on a wave-like look, as
Malaysia was also seen in the side pods
in red text. This same design was
employed for the c19, raced during the
2000 season, as Red Bull took over the
car's rear wing and, the driver's numbers
appeared within Red Bull's logo on the
car's nose.
In 2001 the team produced the
Sergio Rinland designed C20, which in
the hands of Nick Heidfeld and Kimi
Räikkönen, secured Sauber fourth position
in the Constructors' Championship.
This
result were proved to be Sauber's most
successful season as an independent
entry, thanks in some part that the car's
twin keel suspension design.
Credit Suisse had joined the team, which saw
the car's wings committed to the Swiss
financial services company, as well as
the car's nose cone. Additional
sponsorship came in the form of 21inet,
and Temenos, whilst Sauber
Petronas was seen in faint text on the
side pods from above.
In 2002 Red Bull
began to decrease their involvement with
Sauber, as Credit Suisse purchased a
controlling share in the team.
During the 2002 season the team raced with the C21
chassis. Sauber joined the global campaign
to increase HIV/AIDS awareness by
diverting the side pods of the C21 to
the Stop Aids organisation for the
United States Grand Prix.
In 2003 the side
pods of the C22 were repainted in
yellow and occupied by Russian mobile
network provider,
MTC-GSM. The white portion of the car's
nose cone now extended back further
along the car, blending inauspiciously
with Petronas' colours.
The team's
livery design and sponsor package
remained unchanged for season 2004, as
the team raced with the C23 chassis.
However 2004 would prove to be the final
season of the Sauber-Red Bull connection, as
the following year Red Bull would leave
Peter Sauber's team with the launch of
the Red Bull Racing team.
The team went
on to produce the C24, which ran on
Michelin tyres,
and for the final time Ferrari power
badged his Petronas.
2005 was truly the
end of an era for Sauber, as following the
2005 season, German automakers BMW would
purchase a controlling interest in the team.
Following BMWs acquisition of a majority
stake in the team, the first car produced
by the new team was the BMW-Sauber F106,
which came painted and BMW's
traditional racing colours of white, red
and dark blue, and even featured twin
blue decals on the car's nose cream, a
feature synonymous with BMW-powered
Formula one cars. Petronas remained as
the team's fuel supplier and occupied
their usual position on the car's side
pods and rear wing, joined by Credit
Suisse, which took on a position on the
monocoque and the sides of the rear wing.
BMW-Sauber also garnered a band of new
sponsors, including Intel, 02 and Dell.
The following season the team
produced the Jorg Zander designed
F107, which ran with Bridgestone rubber
and an unchanged team livery. 2007 would
prove to be a successful season for the
BMW-Sauber lineup, which saw the team
reach second position in the
Constructors' Championship,
thanks to its drivers, Nick Heidfeld
Robert Kubica and a young Sebastian Vettel.
In 2008 Kubica would secure the
team its first Grand Prix win when he
first crossed the line at the Canadian
Grand Prix piloting F108.
Kubica's teammate Nick Heidfeld would
follow him across the line to make it a
one-two finish for the team.
2009 also
saw German IT company, T-Systems,
appearing in the car's engine case.
The
team retained its livery design heading
into the 2009 season, however, 2009 would
prove to be BMW's last in Formula One, as
the German auto manufacturer announced
their exit from the sport, effective from
the end of the season. Following their
announcement, BMW intended to offload
their holdings in the team to an
investment group known as Quadbac
Investments Ltd. However these plans
ultimately fell through, and eventually
Peter Sauber bought back full control of
his team from BMW.
The team were granted
a 14th entry into the 2010 season, which
hinged on another existing team dropping out.
Subsequently,
following the exit of Toyota from the
sport, Sauber were granted entry into the
2010 Formula One season by the FIA.
In the aftermath of BMW, Sauber returned
to the grid as an independent, rekindling
their working relationship with Ferrari.
The team produced the Ferrari-powered C27,
which ran with Sauber's recognised colours
of white, red and grey.
Throughout the
season Sauber picked up a cutter of small
sponsors, including Claro, Telmex and
Burger King.
The team also signed with
Shell in the absence of Petronas.
In 2011 the team raced with the Pirelli-shod
C30, and additional sponsorship from NEC,
Disensa, Telcel, Asiajet, Mad Croc and
the Mexican tourism office.
The following season the team opted for a change to
its livery, with the team's traditional
colours now coming together in a diagonal
formation on the C31. 2012 also Sauber
begin their partnership with Premier
League club, Chelsea, in a deal which saw
the English football club's logo
appearing on the car's engine case.
Oerlikon were also seen in the car's air
box, whilst the team ran its own branding
on the rear wing
In 2013 the team ran
with an inverted colour scheme for the
C32,
which saw matte grey becoming the
livery's backdrop shade. Red and white,
the colours of the Swiss flag, were seen
on the side of the car.
2013 also saw
Monisha Kaltenborn installed as
Sauber Team Principal.
Sauber would run with a mostly
unaltered livery for the C33 throughout
the 2014 season.
The following year would
see a livery overhaul for the team, as
Banco do Brasil signed on as sponsors.
The team reverted to a royal blue paint
scheme for the C34, which made use of
yellow and white on the cars side pods, a
colour scheme chosen in deference to
Banco do Brasil.
Australian
semiconductor company, Silanna, was also
signed aboard, appearing on the sides of
the car's wings.
At the 2015 United States
Grand Prix, the team celebrated their
400th Grand Prix start.
In 2016 Edox, CNBC and Mulbuner joined the
list of Sauber team sponsors, appearing on
the C34 chassis,
This was, however,
the final season in which Sauber would
remain associated with Banco do Brasil,
as for 2017 the team reverted to an
updated livery for the C35, which
employed a mixture of blue and white,
extenuated  by gold trim.
2017 was
the season which marked 25 years in
Formula One for the Hinwil outfit, a
fact commemorated with a large hoarding
which read across the car's engine case.
Nonetheless, 2017 would also mark the
end of an era for Sauber, as leading into
the season the team's founder, Peter
Sauber, sold his majority share in the
team to Swiss investment firm, Longbow Finance.
In spite of their long-standing
association with the top flight, it was
by this time that Sauber's sponsor base
had dwindled. Thankfully the new and
restructured Sauber team would 
reinvigorate themselves once again,
thanks to the deal with Ferrari's sister
marquee, Alfa Romeo.
Upon the commencement of the 2018 season,
Sauber unveiled their first Formula One
car with Alfa Rameo backing, the all-new
C37.
The 2018 season marks the beginning
of Sauber's multi-year technical and
commercial partnership with Alfa Romeo,
which sees the team racing officially as
Alfa Romeo Sauber.
Alfa Romeo's famous
four-leaf clover now appears on the
car's engine case, which is devoted to
Alfa's unique shade of Rosso, along with
Alfa branding on the rear wing.
2018 also sees Richard Mille, Carrera and former
sponsors, Claro, joining the Sauber team.
And so as Sauber continue their
unwavering assault on Formula One
throughout 2018 and beyond, here ends our
retrospective on the enterprising and
multifaceted Sauber Formula One team.
