[3] The car was driven by Marcus Ericsson and reigning Formula 2 champion Charles Leclerc, who replaced Pascal Wehrlein.

[3][4] This was the last car to be raced under the Sauber name until 2024 as they were renamed as Alfa Romeo for the 2019 season, although the team's structure remained unchanged.

The chassis was designed by Jörg Zander, Luca Furbatto, Ian Wright and Nicolas Hennel with the car being powered with a customer Ferrari powertrain.

The car was originally intended to use an engine supplied by Honda until the team underwent a reorganisation of its management structure and the agreement was abandoned.

Their best finish in 2018 was sixth place courtesy of Leclerc at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.