After five years with the name Alfa Romeo, the Swiss Sauber team, which debuted in F.1 at the 1993 South African GP, rediscovers its original identity, to which is added the name of the sponsor, awaiting the association with Audi scheduled for 2026. The 2024 car still features the mechanical elements supplied by Ferrari (powertrain and transmission), and the same two drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou.
In the history of static modeling, Spark has truly revolutionized the market. The brand was created by Hugues Ripert, whose father André had been one of the main contenders of the artisanal modeling scene in the 70s and 80s. After working for Vitesse, Quartzo and Ixo, Ripert jr did not choose the diecast technique but opted for resin, with production in China but development and conception strictly in the European tradition. In practice the idea was to offer special models built in small series (what were later called "resincast"). The first Sparks were released in 2000, with a quality-price ratio unapproachable for most industrial and artisanal producers. Today Spark continues to churn out dozens of new products a year, having also expanded its production to other scales, such as 1:18 but also 1:64. There are numerous numbered and limited series for the various national distributors and for private customers such as teams, sponsors, drivers and so on.