Peter Sauber at 80: ‘I’m still very strongly connected to Formula 1’

Peter Sauber's life's work is still thriving in Formula 1 today. The only thing that has changed is the success - the Alfa Romeo Sauber has been in the rear midfield for some time now. EQ Images

Peter Sauber has achieved the feat of establishing a Swiss racing team in Formula 1. Even at 80, he is still strongly emotionally involved in the sport.

Until the middle of the last century, Switzerland was a stronghold of motor racing: the Swiss Grand Prix (GP) on the legendary Bremgarten circuit in Bern was a classic on the international racing calendar, on a par with the GPs in Monaco and at the Nürburgring.

After the devastating Le Mans accident in 1955, when more than 80 people were killed in a grandstand, it was over: the Swiss government banned circuit racing. The GP of Bern, which was won by the Argentinian Juan Manuel Fangio, thus securing his second Formula 1 world championship title, was the last major motorsport event in Switzerland until today.

The visionary

In the 1980s one man re-established the link between the great racetracks of this world and Switzerland: Peter Sauber founded his racing team in Hinwil, which still competes in Formula 1 today and constructs its racing cars in the Zurich Oberland. On October 13, Sauber celebrated his 80th birthday.

“I am already proud that this company, which I founded in Hinwil in 1970, still exists today and has always grown,” Sauber told Swiss public television, SRF.

Since 2016, the Zurich native has no longer been active in the Alfa Romeo team (as it is called today), when he gave up all his shares. But he can still be found at the race track from time to time; motorsport remains his passion. “Emotionally, I am still very strongly connected to Formula 1. I attend two or three races a year and otherwise follow them intensively in front of the television,” Sauber says.

‘Greatest successes’

Sauber was once a racing driver himself, but he quickly shifted his focus to designing the cars. With his Sauber C models, which he designed himself (the C stands for Christiane, his wife), he had great success. The highlight was the double victory in the legendary 24-hour race at Le Mans in 1989.

In 1989 and 1990, his team won the World Sportscar Championship. One of his drivers at the time was a young German named Michael Schumacher.

In 1993, Sauber moved up to the “top class” of motor sport, and since then a piece of Switzerland has been competing in the Formula 1 World Championship. In 1995, thanks to Heinz-Harald Frentzen, the team celebrated its first podium finish in Monza, and in 2001 they finished the Constructors’ World Championship in fourth place. For the founder, the Le Mans victory and the year 2001 are “the greatest successes”.

Only GP victory

The Swiss team also attracted attention because many world-class drivers took their first steps with it: Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen, Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc all once drove for Sauber.

In 2005, Peter Sauber was voted Swiss of the Year. In 2008, at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, the big double coup came: Robert Kubica won the first and so far only Formula 1 victory for Sauber ahead of team-mate Nick Heidfeld.

Falling behind

For several years now, the Alfa Romeo team has been at the back of the pack in the world championship, currently in eighth place in the constructors’ championship. However, it was only on October 8 in Qatar that both Alfa Romeo drivers were able to finish in the points for the first time this season.

There was no Formula 1 race on the schedule last weekend, so it was a quiet birthday weekend for the Sauber founder. He did not want to reveal in advance whether he had anything special planned. Only this much: he would be celebrating in a private setting.