500 GP: Peter Sauber looks back 🎥
HOMMAGE TO THE CELEBRATION At the Turkish GP, Sauber Motorsport and its F1 team - now Alfa Romeo Racing - made its 500th consecutive appearance in Formula 1. Peter Sauber comments on this in a short film. Peter Sauber looks back - as always, preferably in Swiss German - on the beginning and later highlight of his [...]
Peter Sauber looks back - as always, preferably in Swiss German - on the beginning and later peak of his Formula 1 team. It shows him as part of the Sauber F1 exhibition at autobau Romanshorn. Beat Zehnder, who has risen from former mechanic to sports director, today's drivers and team boss Frédéric Vasseur also comment on the anniversary in English.
Only three teams have been around longer
The Turkish Grand Prix was the 500th Formula 1 race in which the Sauber team has taken part without interruption. The exclusive "500 Club" otherwise only includes Ferrari, McLaren and Williams, which have long since set this milestone - the Scuderia even has more than a thousand Grands Prix behind it since this fall.
Since its debut at the 1993 South African Grand Prix, Formula One race cars from Hinwil have contested half of the 1032 races that have taken place with the Turkish GP. In 28 of the 70 seasons since the start of the Formula One World Championship anno 1950, the team has held the Swiss flag high on GP weekends.
One winner among 40 drivers
It also wafted down the center of the podium at the 2008 Canadian GP in Montreal, when current reserve driver Robert Kubica ensured the only victory to date for a Sauber race car (under BMW custody).
To date, 40 different GP drivers have raced for the Swiss team including BMW Sauber F1 and Alfa Romeo Racing. The complete statistics can be found on the Wikipedia pages about Sauber Motorsport and BMW Sauber F1 can be taken.
Testimony of commitment
In a statement, Sauber Motorsport does not primarily comment on its drivers, but on the entire workforce.
"This is not just any technology company, but a team made up of people. We've never made a secret of how important the human factor is in everything we do. These 500 races are the result of the work, dedication and commitment of hundreds of employees who, since 1993, have made the team what it is today. One of those employees is our Sports Director, Beat Zehnder, who has the remarkable honor of having been at every one of those 500 races. It has been handed down that he has missed only one practice session since that day in Kyalami - a testament to his commitment to Sauber."
