Beat Zehnder leaves Audi: Warm farewell after 39 years of service

The news that Beat Zehnder is to leave the Audi works team has touched the entire Formula 1 paddock. After all, the Swiss national has been an integral part of the team ever since Sauber entered Formula 1 – first as a mechanic, later as chief mechanic, then as team manager and, finally, as head of the team’s heritage programme.

Now the 60-year-old is leaving the Hinwil-based team, which has been competing in the premier class as the Audi works team since this year. Officially, he is leaving at the end of the year, but he has already had his last day at work, as he revealed on social media. In a heartfelt message, Zehnder has publicly bid farewell to a team to which he has given 39 years of loyal service.

“Today is my last official day at Audi Motorsport AG, formerly Sauber Motorsport AG. When I started with Sauber in 1988, I couldn’t have imagined where this journey would take me. Back then, we were a small, passionate and very ambitious team with big dreams,” recalls the former mechanic.

“From March 1988 to May 2025, I had the privilege of being there for our team at every single World Championship race: 36 World Sportscar Championship races and 601 consecutive Formula 1 races. Along the way, we celebrated two World Championship titles in the World Sportscar Championship in both the drivers’ and teams’ standings, a one-two finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and second place in the Formula 1 World Championship,” Zehnder proudly lists. “I’ve seen our team grow, shrink and grow again. I’ve seen it fight, struggle and celebrate, and I’ve witnessed its transformation into what it is today: the Audi Formula 1 team.”

Beat Zehnder: It’s the people you remember

“It’s not the cars, the circuits or the results that will stay with me most, but the people. The mechanics who worked night shifts to get the cars up to scratch, the engineers who never gave up, no matter what problems they had to solve, and all the people behind the scenes whose work nobody sees but on whom everyone relies,” writes the long-serving Sauber team manager. He knows: “The stories and history of this team are a unique legacy. I hope they will always be treated with the respect they deserve, because they remind us of where we’ve come from.”

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Finally, Zehnder also thanks team founder Peter Sauber, who gave him the chance to become part of the world of motor racing in 1988: “My deepest and most sincere thanks go to Peter Sauber, who gave me the opportunity to grow and become a racing driver. I will always be proud to be part of this family.”