Sauber restructures ownership as Alfa Romeo closes in

Sauber's latest change of ownership could be indicative of a full take-over by Alfa Romeo at some point down the road.

The Swiss outfit strengthened its ties with Ferrari at the end of last year with a commercial partnership with Alfa Romeo and a new engine supply deal with the Scuderia.

Recently, Sauber technical boss Jorg Zander was replaced by ex-Ferrari man and chief designer Simone Resta.

All signs point to an increased collaboration and rapprochement between Hinwil and Maranello, but a recent change of ownership at Sauber could be construed as the precursor to a buy-out of the team by the Alfa Romeo brand.

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For the past two years, Sauber has been owned by an investment company known as Longbow Finance.

However, according to Swiss weekly Handelszeitung a change of shareholders has just taken place, with a company called Islero Investments now assuming ownership of Sauber.

"Islero Investments has taken over the position of Longbow Finance," confirmed Longbow's boss Pascal Picci.

Handelszeitung also reported that a delegation of Sauber staff is scheduled to visit Ferrari's Maranello headquarters, hence the Alfa take-over speculation.

Picci insisted however that "Sauber will remain independent for the foreseeable future."

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