Sauber F1 chief Bravi to leave team at end of January

Sauber managing director and workforce consultant Alessandro Alunni Bravi will half methods with the System 1 squad on the finish of January after an eight-year stint.

The bespectacled Italian was added to the board of the Sauber workforce following its takeover by Longbow Finance in 2017, the funding firm headed by TetraPak billionaire Finn Rausing.

Beforehand, Alunni Bravi had loved a prolonged spell in quite a lot of roles the world over of motorsport, together with driver and workforce administration positions.

He turned the managing director at Sauber (then Alfa Romeo) in 2022 and, following the departure of workforce principal Frederic Vasseur because the Frenchman took over at Ferrari in 2023, was appointed as workforce consultant.

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Current managerial modifications on the workforce following its takeover and impending rebrand to Audi in 2026 have led to Alunni Bravi departing the workforce for a ‘new venture’, as ex-Purple Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley takes over as workforce principal.

“It’s an emotional time as my journey with Sauber reaches its finish,” mentioned Alunni Bravi.

“Since I joined in 2017, I’ve seen this workforce develop and alter past what anybody might have imagined.

“This organisation went by means of thrilling and troublesome occasions alike, all with out ever shedding its spirit and its dedication, which is one thing I discover inspiring, and I used to be happy with having the ability to signify the workforce as its public face within the final two years.

“As I transfer on to a brand new venture, I need to thank Finn Rausing, all those that put a lot belief and religion in me at Sauber and Audi, and all of the colleagues I’ve been working with for the final eight years. This workforce is a household and has a vibrant future forward.”

Sauber is in its remaining 12 months of working with its present moniker, used intermittently because the workforce was fashioned in 1993 round quite a lot of industrial offers with producers, earlier than it turns into the complete works entity of Audi.

Mattia Binotto, who was put in as chief working officer and chief technical officer on the workforce final 12 months because the warring Oliver Hoffmann and Andreas Seidl each departed the workforce, felt that Alunni Bravi had “embodied the essence” of Sauber in his position on the workforce.

“Having labored intently with him within the months since my arrival to Hinwil, I need to pay tribute to Alessandro, a real workforce participant who got here to embody the essence of Sauber all through the years.

“Alessandro performed a variety of roles inside the workforce, steering it by means of troublesome and thrilling occasions alike.

“As he strikes onto a brand new enterprise, the entire firm want to thank him for all his power and contributions over time and need him the most effective for the long run.”