Happy Birthday: Peter Sauber turns 80!

Daniel Leu And Roger Benoit

Friday the 13th – an unlucky day for many, but not for Peter Sauber, because next Friday the 13th is the Zurich native’s 80th birthday. Even though the motorsport pioneer from Zurich does not like to be in the spotlight, his milestone birthday and his life’s work deserve to be honored here. From a to Z!

It was the ritual between Peter Sauber and Blick reporter legend Roger Benoit for decades. After the races, the two sat together in the Sauber camper, ate a piece of apple pie, smoked a cigar and discussed the next day’s Blick Formula 1 headline together.

The garage owner and amateur driver had a decisive influence on Sauber. In 1967 a childhood friend took Sauber to Blank in Seefeld in Zurich. A test drive in a souped-up VW Beetle was enough to infect him with the racing virus. Sauber: “I was so low that I could barely see outside. I still remember today what Blank said: ‘You have to drive and you don’t have to lie.'”

He named the first car he designed, the C1, after his wife Christiane, to whom he has been married since 1965. But not just out of love for her. The A (Renault Alpine) and the B (Brabham) were already gone. “I thought the C was a charming solution,” says Sauber.

Sauber often thanked Benoit for Blick writing so much about Formula 1 and the Sauber racing team, but he also always said honestly that he would rather read all this in the ‘NZZ’ than in the tabloids.

That was his learned profession. After completing his apprenticeship, he started a technical center in Winterthur with the aim of one day working in his father’s company, a company in the electrical industry. But shortly after starting his studies, he dropped out.

Even after his retirement from Formula 1 in 2016, he remained loyal to the sport. As a fan, he watches every training and race on TV and suffers because of “his” team.

There’s one thing Peter Sauber never wanted: to be in the spotlight. A pleasant rarity in Formula 1.

Anyone who is not from the Zurich Oberland only knows Hinwil thanks to… Clean. Today it employs approximately 600 people, thanks to… Clean. His name is still closely linked to the community, even though he says: “I don’t even have a screwdriver there anymore.”

Compared to Hinwil (11,700 inhabitants), Ingolstadt (137,000) is a metropolis – and the home of Audi. The German car manufacturer will join Sauber in Formula 1 in 2026, thereby securing the location in Hinwil and Sauber’s life’s work.

The last time Sauber and the fans could really celebrate was at Suzuka in 2012. Kamui Kobayashi’s third place is the Swiss team’s last podium finish to date.

That’s how the C1 was affectionately called. It was no coincidence that it was painted yellow. That was the corporate color of his father’s company. With the C1, Sauber became Swiss sports car champion.

Sauber’s Formula 1 adventure began at the South African GP in Kyalami in 1993. And how! The Finn JJ Lehto immediately scored points in fifth place.

The Sauber racing team celebrated the only victory in its history there in 2008. It even became a double victory: 1. Robert Kubica, 2. Nick Heidfeld. He still regrets that Sauber was not there because of his role as ambassador for the 2008 European Football Championship.

So far, 32 drivers have taken part in a Formula 1 race for the racing team, but never a Swiss driver. Simona De Silvestro (2014 in Fiorano and Valencia) and Fabio Leimer (2011 in Abu Dhabi) were able to drive a few laps in a Sauber. And Neel Jani was allowed to participate in test drives several times in 2003.

The country on the Arabian Peninsula was his favorite holiday destination for many years.

In 1997, Sauber convinced the Malaysian oil company to participate. The collaboration lasted until 2005. Thanks to him, major companies such as Credit Suisse and Red Bull also entered Formula 1.

The Qatar GP last weekend proved to be an early birthday present for Sauber. Both drivers finish in the points.

In September 2000, the then 20-year-old unknown Finn was allowed to drive his first laps for Sauber in Mugello. A stroke of luck. Schumi, who was also testing there at the time, told Sauber that day: “I have no idea who tested there, but you have to give them a contract tonight.” After one Sauber season, Kimi moved to McLaren for a reported 40 million francs!

Thanks to his colleague, with whom he had gone to school during the final stages of his federal high school diploma, Sauber attended his first motorsport event in Monza in 1966. A dramatic experience.

That’s what Sauber called the managers who always tried to sell him their drivers. Luckily he relied on a carpet dealer at Kimi’s, but otherwise they were a thorn in his side.

In 2005, Sauber was voted Swiss of the Year thanks to his entrepreneurial pioneering work. An award that still means a lot to him today.

He took part in his first mountain competition in 1967 in Sternenberg (Zürich Oberland). “But I can barely remember.” In 1974 he ended his career as a racing driver.

In 1994, the Austrian Sauber driver had a serious accident in Monte Carlo and was subsequently in a coma for 19 days. It was the patron’s most difficult moment of his career. He visited him again and again in the hospital. “I’ll never forget that,” Wendlinger says to this day.

The unfathomable, the great unknown: How many millions did Sauber pay out of its own pocket at the end of 2009 after BMW’s scandalous end to save the racing team and thus all the jobs? Sauber later explained how tight things were at the time: “I had 24 hours to make a purchase offer to BMW.”

If you want to know what makes (Peter) Sauber so fascinating, watch this video: Click here for the YouTube link. In it, partner Beat Zehnder tells anecdotes about Formula 1 and the man Peter Sauber. Worth seeing.

Speaking of Zehnder: he has worked for Sauber since 1988, initially as a mechanic, then as a team manager and now even as a sporting director. He was one of Sauber’s closest companions. Zehnder: “I have never regretted staying.”