Beat Zehnder, who was Sauber’s long-standing workforce supervisor earlier than being rebranded to Audi will go away the Formulation 1 workforce after this season.
Zehnder was a focus in Sauber’s F1 operations, having been within the paddock for the reason that very begin of the undertaking, again in 1993.
The Swiss engineer joined Sauber Motorsport in 1988, and was integral to its sportscar programme with triumphs on the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the outright World Sportscar Championship.
He was elevated to workforce supervisor of the F1 workforce in 1994 and stayed in that function till one other promotion onto the administration committee in 2018.
After the Audi rebrand, Zehnder grew to become the Director of Signature Packages and Operations – taking care of Audi’s heritage actions.
The German marque has now introduced that Zehnder might be leaving the workforce on the finish of the 2026 season as a part of the workforce’s “restructuring of its operations forward of the 2027 season.”
Earlier this week, Audi had named Thomas Fuhr as the brand new CEO of its F1 undertaking.
Full assertion from Audi
Audi introduced Zehnder’s departure on the eve of the F1 Mexico Metropolis GP.
The workforce assertion mentioned, “Audi Revolut F1 Workforce locations on report its honest due to Beat Zehnder, who will go away the workforce on the finish of December 2026 following the restructuring of its operations forward of the 2027 season. Beat has been a mentor to tons of of workforce members and drivers who’ve handed via Hinwil through the years.”
“Beat joined Sauber Motorsport in 1988 and was a part of the workforce’s sportscar programme that gained the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the World Sportscar Championship in 1989 and 1990, earlier than transferring into Formulation 1 with the workforce in 1993.
“He served as Workforce Supervisor from 1994, was appointed to the Administration Committee in 2018 and most not too long ago led the workforce’s Heritage actions as Director Signature Packages & Operations. Throughout his tenure he loved each the highs and lows of working in such a demanding sport, by no means shedding his professionalism, his relentless aggressive streak and want to win.
“He steps away with 36 World Sportscar Championship races and 601 consecutive Formulation One races to his identify. We thank him for 39 years of excellent service and want him all the perfect for the longer term.”
Zehnder steps away from the Hinwil-based squad with over 600 Grands Prix underneath his belt and a resume boasting of drivers like Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez underneath his steering whereas at Sauber.
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