Nurturing the talent of tomorrow

The Sauber Academy was launched in 2020 to represent, in conjunction with the Sauber Karting Team, a full development pathway, designed to lead drivers from grassroots to the pinnacle of motorsport and nurture the next generation of Formula One drivers.

The programme

Under the direct supervision of Sporting Director, Beat Zehnder, the Sauber Academy provides its inductees with the training necessary to progress on their way to their ultimate target, Formula One. This will take the shape of mental and physical training, technical work with the team’s engineers, media training and work on the simulator – both for F1 and for the drivers’ respective series – in order to develop a complete and well-rounded driver, capable of dealing professionally and successfully with all the on- and off-track challenges a career in motorsport delivers.

The programme will include also training camps for the off-season and access to the most professional resources available to the Sauber Motorsport team.

The drivers

2023 FIA F2 Champion Théo Pourchaire, F2 racer Zane Maloney, F1 Academy sophomore Carrie Schreiner, F1 Academy runner-up Léna Bühler and Sauber Karting Team racer Taym Saleh are the drivers currently flying the flag for the Sauber Academy. As part of the programme, they have access to Sauber’s expertise and know-how and take part in a tailor-made development programme to complement their 2024 racing activities.

When it comes to discovering and nurturing young talent, Sauber has a proven record of success, boasting the names of Michael Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Kimi Räikkönen, Sebastian Vettel, Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica, Sergio Pérez, Charles Leclerc and, of course, Zhou Guanyu among the drivers getting their big break with the Swiss outfit.