# Kick Sauber C44

The Kick Sauber C44 is a Formula One car designed and constructed by Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber to compete in the 2024 Formula One World Championship. The car was driven by Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, both in their third and final year with the team. The C44 was the first chassis to re-inherit the Sauber name after the team's naming rights partnership with Alfa Romeo ended. While substantially different than the Alfa Romeo C43, the car experienced poor reliability and regressed during the season after upgrades repeatedly failed to address fundamental issues. The C44 relegated Sauber to a last place finish in the World Constructor's Championship for the first time since 2017, scoring four total points in the penultimate race of the season at the Qatar Grand Prix.

## Background
### Development context

The C44 was the first Sauber design to be led by James Key, who reunited with then-CEO Andreas Seidl after his dismissal from McLaren. He inherited a design started by longtime Sauber designer Jan Monchaux, who was replaced by Key in August of 2023. Key claimed that the C44 was a clean sheet design, sharing only very select designs with the preceding C43. In a first for the team, the car utilized an in-house transmission casing that housed its customer Ferrari gearbox. The C44's initial design inherited a new pull-rod front suspension as used by Key at McLaren, and featured a new downwards-sloping sidepod with very tight packaging. Following the FIA's investigation into the C42's upside-down crash at the 2022 British Grand Prix, Sauber abandoned its unique roll hoop and air intake designs for a more conventional A-shape design on the C44.

### Branding and naming rights

Following the conclusion of Sauber's naming rights partnership with Alfa Romeo, the team unveiled a new title partnership agreement with the Australian-Curaçaoan online casino Stake. The team sold the C44's chassis naming rights to the company's streaming subsidiary Kick, adopting the latter's branding and altering the team's name in jurisdictions where gambling sponsorships are outlawed.

## Competition and development history

The C44 made its track debut at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during a promotional filming exercise, later making its public debut at official preseason testing at Bahrain International Circuit.

### Opening rounds

Following preseason testing, a new front wing was developed and deployed at the second round of the season at the Australian Grand Prix. However, this development was negated by a substantial issue caused by lightweight wheel nuts introduced on the C44. This new design cross-threaded the team's wheel guns and caused dramatically slow pit times upwards of thirty seconds, eliminating the C44 from points contention in the opening rounds. A new ground effect floor introduced at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix did not have the desired effect, and the car slipped towards the back of the grid. In the first seven rounds of the season, the C44 achieved a best result of fourteenth and did not threaten for a points-paying position.

### Mid-season rounds

New rear and beam wings introduced at the Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix did not increase performance, prompting the team to revert Zhou Guanyu to an early-season specification to diagnose engineering correlation issues. At the same time, both drivers expressed concerns with the C44's tyre management capabilities, commenting publicly that they struggled to bring their tyres up to the required operating envelope in both qualifying and race trims. Shortly after the summer break, team owner Audi AG publicly declared that the team's performance was 'unacceptably poor'. Pundits commented that the team's struggles may have derived from Audi's fixation on the 2026 championship and executive infighting that led to Seidl's dismissal from the team during the summer break. In the period from Monaco to the Dutch Grand Prix, the C44 achieved a best result of thirteenth on three occasions and still did not threaten for points.

### Closing rounds

The C44 experienced an aerodynamic breakthrough at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, where a fundamentally redesigned floor geometry changed floor fences, leading edges, and the rear diffuser. Both cars reached Q2 during qualifying, with Zhou finishing in thirteenth on merit ahead of competitors including Aston Martin, Williams, and RB. At the next round in Qatar, the C44 achieved its only points finish of the season in eight position with Zhou Guanyu. At the final round at Yas Marina, the C44 achieved its only Q3 appearance with Bottas in tenth position. At the end of the season, the C44 participated in Pirelli tyre testing at Yas Marina Circuit with new drivers Nico Hülkenburg and Gabriel Bortoleto.

## Complete Formula One results

Key :
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | Second place |
| Bronze | Third place |
| Green | Other points position |
| Blue | Other classified position |
| Blue | Not classified, finished (NC) |
| Purple | Not classified, retired (Ret) |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Race cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Did not practice (DNP) |
| Blank | Excluded (EX) |
| Blank | Did not arrive (DNA) |
| Blank | Withdrawn (WD) |
| Blank | Did not enter (empty cell) |
| Annotation | Meaning |
| P | Pole position |
| F | Fastest lap |
| Superscript number | Points-scoring position in sprint |
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Grands Prix | Points | WCC |
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | BHR | SAU | AUS | JPN | CHN | MIA | EMI | MON | CAN | ESP | AUT | GBR | HUN | BEL | NED | ITA | AZE | SIN | USA | MXC | SAP | LVG | QAT | ABU | Points | WCC |
| 2024 | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | Ferrari 066/12 1.6 V6 t | P | Valtteri Bottas | 19 | 17 | 14 | 14 | Ret | 16 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 18 | 11 | Ret | 4 | 10th |
| 2024 | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | Ferrari 066/12 1.6 V6 t | P | Zhou Guanyu | 11 | 18 | 15 | Ret | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Ret | 20 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 19 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 10th |
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