Swiss motorsport executive Peter Sauber has legally changed his name to Pietro Alfa-Romeo from the start of the 2019 F1 season.



“It is sad to lose my own name” the former Swiss executive told us.



“But it’s for the best”



The change comes hours after the team he founded, Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team announced they too would be changing their name to Alfa Romeo Racing.



“It will be weird not seeing my name on the grid. Or on my passport, my documents, my name tags, on anything”



“But I’m very happy with my new name, as are my new owners”



Pietro spent 2018 calling himself Alfa Romeo Peter Sauber, but decided to make the full transition in January 2019.



His family have all made the switch, with wife Christine and sons Phillip and Alex Sauber now known as Cristina, Filippo and Giovanni-Lorenzo respectively.



The-executive-formerly-known-as-Sauber also revealed he has also swapped his Swiss heritage for an Italian passport, completing the full transition.



“It is sad to be leaving my home country”



“But I’m as Italian as watchmaking, army knives and alpine skiing!” Pietro replied, “now who wants some fondue??”



More to come.

