Sauber Academy
| Founded | 2019 (as Sauber Junior Team) |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Sauber Motorsport AG |
| Folded | 2025 |
| Base | Hinwil, Zürich, Switzerland |
| Team principal(s) | Beat Zehnder |
| Noted drivers | Juan Manuel Correa Callum Ilott Arthur Leclerc Théo Pourchaire Fabio Scherer Roman Staněk Ugo Ugochukwu Zane Maloney |
The Sauber Academy had its best ever season in 2023, as Théo Pourchaire (top) won Formula 2 and Léna Bühler (bottom) was F1 Academy runner-up.
The Sauber Academy, formerly known as the Sauber Junior Team, was a driver development programme by Sauber Motorsport to support drivers from karts through the feeder series ladder to promote them to their Formula One team.[1]
In November 2018, Sauber entered a partnership with Czech team Charouz Racing System to form the Sauber Junior Team, followed by the creation of a karting team, aligned with Kart Republic, in March 2019.[2][3] Sauber then parted ways with Charouz and rebranded the programme as the Sauber Academy for 2020.[4][5]
After Audi took over Sauber's entry in 2026, the team launched its own driver academy, the Audi Driver Development Programme.[6]
Former drivers
Sauber Junior Team (2019)
| Driver | Years | Series that driver competed as Sauber junior |
|---|---|---|
| Juan Manuel Correa | 2019 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019) |
| Alessandro Ghiretti | 2019 | ADAC Formula 4 (2019) |
| Raoul Hyman | 2019 | FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019) |
| Callum Ilott[note 1] | 2019 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019) |
| Arthur Leclerc | 2019 | ADAC Formula 4 (2019) |
| Théo Pourchaire | 2019 | ADAC Formula 4 (2019) |
| Fabio Scherer | 2019 | FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019) |
| Roman Staněk | 2019 | ADAC Formula 4 (2019) Italian F4 Championship (2019) |
| Lirim Zendeli | 2019 | FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019) |
Sauber Academy (2020–2025)
Sauber Karting Team
From 2019 to 2022, Sauber and kart manufacturer Kart Republic ran the Sauber Karting Team.[3]
| Driver | Years | Series that driver competed as Sauber junior |
|---|---|---|
| Joshua Dufek | 2019 | Karting (2019) |
| Dexter Patterson | 2019 | Karting (2019) |
| Christian Ho | 2019–2021 | Karting (2019–2021) |
| Piotr Czaja | 2020 | Karting (2020) |
| Harry Thompson[18] | 2020 | Karting (2020) |
| Ugo Ugochukwu[19] | 2020–2021 | Karting (2020–2021) |
| Tiziano Monza[20] | 2020–2021 | Karting (2020–2021) |
| Miguel Costa[21][22] | 2020–2022 | Karting – OKJ (2020–2022) |
| Sonny Smith[23] | 2021 | Karting – OKJ (2021) |
| Maciej Gładysz[24] | 2021 | Karting – OKJ (2021) |
| Gustaw Wiśniewski[24] | 2021 | Karting – OKJ (2021) |
| Zachary David[25] | 2021–2022 | Karting – OK (2021–2022) |
Sauber Affiliate drivers
In 2014, Sauber set up Sauber Affiliate drivers, an F1 preparation programme with the team, including on-track testing, simulator work, as well as mental and physical training, with the goal of gaining the FIA Super Licence required for F1 competition.[26]
| Driver | Years | Series that driver competed as Sauber Affiliate |
|---|---|---|
| Simona de Silvestro | 2014 | None |
Notes
- ^ In 2019 Ilott was part of both the Sauber Junior Team and the Ferrari Driver Academy.
References
- ^ "Théo Pourchaire and Roberto Faria fly the flag for Sauber Academy". 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ "Sauber establish junior team with Charouz Racing System". 15 November 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
- ^ a b Mitchell, Scott (29 March 2019). "Sauber launches kart team with ex-Rosberg/Hamilton boss". Autosport. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ Wood, Elliot (24 June 2020). "Sauber relaunches its F1 junior programme with four drivers". FormulaScout. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ Wood, Elliot (29 January 2020). "Karters Harry Thompson and Miguel Costa become Sauber juniors". FormulaScout. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ "Audi announce Driver Development Programme with Allan McNish as Director". F1. 23 January 2026. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
- ^ "Sauber junior Emmo Fittipaldi to make car racing debut in Danish F4". 18 March 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ Cleeren, Filip (24 June 2024). "Sauber F1 team looking to find Pourchaire a new IndyCar seat". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ Wood, Ida (18 December 2024). "Sauber confirms departure of F1 reserve drivers Pourchaire and Maloney". Formula Scout. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
- ^ "Comeback to greater things: Juan Manuel Correa joins Sauber Academy". Sauber Group. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- ^ Allen, Peter (16 March 2022). "Roberto Faria joins Theo Pourchaire in Sauber Academy". Formula Scout. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Raising the champions of the future: Sauber Academy announces 2023 line-up". Sauber. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ "Karters Harry Thompson and Miguel Costa become Sauber juniors". 29 January 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ Wood, Ida (5 November 2024). "Miguel Costa steps up from karting to cars with Campos in Spanish F4". Formula Scout. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ "Zane Maloney joins Sauber Academy and Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber as Reserve Driver". Formula 2. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ^ "Schreiner to represent Sauber Academy in F1 Academy for 2024". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ Zambarloukos, Alexander (17 December 2024). "Für eine 17-jährige Welserin lebt der Traum von der Formel 1". Oberösterreichische Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 18 December 2024.
- ^ "Karters Harry Thompson and Miguel Costa become Sauber juniors". 29 January 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ Scout, Formula (22 July 2021). "Five young drivers Alfa Romeo should support in its Stellantis era". Formula Scout. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ "Tiziano Monza – Mini Driver". 24 June 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "Karters Harry Thompson and Miguel Costa become Sauber juniors". 29 January 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ Wood, Ida (5 November 2024). "Miguel Costa steps up from karting to cars with Campos in Spanish F4". Formula Scout. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ "New F1 juniors join grid for 2021 karting season opener in Italy". 16 February 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Sauber's karting team welcomes Maciej Gladysz and Gustaw Wisniewski". 2 February 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "David Zachary joins the Sauber Karting Team". 7 December 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "Sauber hire IndyCar driver Simona de Silvestro to prepare her for F1". The Guardian. 14 February 2014.