Sauber finds its ‘Northern Star’ under Binotto’s leadership

When former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto took on the role of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technical Officer of Sauber’s Formula 1 operation earlier this year, he knew the challenges ahead were immense.

Tasked with steering the Swiss outfit’s transition to becoming Audi’s works team by 2026, Binotto inherited a team languishing at the back of the grid, devoid of points and without a coherent strategy for improvement.

However, his arrival has marked a turning point, as he has laid out a structured plan to rebuild Sauber from the ground up, and establish a "Northern Star" – a long-term direction and vision for future success.

Binotto’s assessment of the situation upon his arrival at Hinwil was stark, to say the least.

“When I came in there was not only zero points, but really even no plans nor developments. And that's what concerned me the most," the Sauber chief said in an interview with Motorsport.com. 

“Everything was only focused on ’26, but that was for me somehow a problem because I think that a team needs always to fight on track.”

The Italian emphasized that competing in the present is essential for long-term growth.

“It's only by fighting, competing on track, that you can understand how good you're doing and if whatever you're doing is going the right direction.

“You need to understand performance. You need to understand weaknesses and strengths, and you need as well to address them. And that's the real know-how of a team.”

• Read also: Sauber’s 2024 season: A Bright Green Disaster

Binotto found Sauber to be a team that had stagnated. So his first priority was to reinvigorate the operation, ensuring that the team not only looked ahead to 2026 but also made strides in the short term.

“When I joined in August, really, it was like a team that was almost frozen,” he explained.

“How important the current season was, was not only about not finishing with zero points, because finishing 10th with zero or 10th with four points does not change much.

“But it was more for us to make sure that we have defined the proper direction of development for next season as well – and being energized through the wintertime.

“Today, I can see a team that is more convinced on what's required, what's necessary for next season, and hopefully we can further develop the current car,” he said.

After conducting a thorough review of Sauber’s operations, Binotto identified critical areas for improvement.

“I think that Sauber has been a team in the mindset of survival in the last 10 years, with no more investments and no real expenditure. So whatever you've got, you kept, but you never further developed,” he observed.

One of the most glaring deficiencies was in the team’s wind tunnel and simulation methodologies.

“A good tunnel is not only having the proper flow into a tunnel; it's the way you measure your data and the aero performance characteristics. It's about measurements, it's about sensors, it's about acquisition of data. It's about the accuracy of the data. It's about correlation to the race track,” he explained.

Similar issues plagued the team’s simulation tools, which he described as “not great enough.”

To remedy these issues, Binotto outlined a strategy that includes both upgrading facilities and recruiting new talent. He estimates that Sauber needs to add around 350 personnel to compete with top teams—a daunting task given the specialist skills required.

“It is a lot of people. It’s really a lot. So we believe that the number of people we need to grow to be comparable to a top team is 350,” he said.

Recognizing the challenges of attracting experienced professionals, Binotto is focusing on young talent.

“That’s why our strategy will be to invest mainly on very young graduate talents. The reason why is because I am pretty convinced that it is the best investment we can do for our future,” he said.

“The Audi journey is a long-term journey, and I’m pretty sure that in a couple of years, the young graduates today will give us our best return on investments.”

Binotto’s vision for Sauber’s transformation is ambitious but grounded in realism. He acknowledges that the team will not become competitive overnight and has set 2030 as a realistic target for fighting for championships.

“So maybe it's only in three years' time we can reach our objective of fighting for wins, and let me say the title by 2030. That's still very ambitious, very challenging. But that is how long it will take,” he stated.

In the meantime, the focus is on incremental improvement.

“What can be [the target] in the meantime? It's improving, improving each single season, as simple as that,” Binotto said.

“You need to go step by step, to climb the mountain to being in the top ranking. For us, it will be important, I think, next year, to do better than what has been 2024, and the following year as well.”

With Audi’s financial backing and Binotto’s strategic leadership, Sauber finally has a clear roadmap to follow.

“It's a Northern Star. It's a clear vision. It's there,” he said. “We need to get to the top, and we are at the moment really trying to trace our way on how to find it. We know it could be long.

“We know that it will be even difficult, it will be exhausting. But having the clear vision and managing the expectations is the most important today.”

For the first time in years, Sauber has a direction and a leader committed to seeing the journey through. While the road to success will be long, the foundations are being laid for a brighter future.

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