Beat Zehnder leaves Audi after 39 years in Hinwil
Beat Zehnder will leave Audi in December 2026, ending 39 years with Sauber in Hinwil, as part of the restructuring of operations for 2027. The Swiss joined in 1988, won Le Mans and the World Sportscar Championship in 1989 and 1990, and worked with Raikkonen, Massa, Vettel, Kubica and Leclerc.
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Beat Zehnder vai deixar a Audi em dezembro de 2026 e encerrar, assim, um dos capítulos mais longos da história da Sauber em Hinwil: foram 39 anos ligados à Sauber, começando antes mesmo de a equipe entrar na Fórmula 1. A confirmação da saída faz parte da reestruturação das operações para a temporada 2027.
O suíço chegou à Sauber Motorsport em 1988 para trabalhar no programa de protótipos. Naquela fase, o time venceu as 24 Horas de Le Mans e também o Mundial de Protótipos, nos anos de 1989 e 1990.
A mudança para o projeto de F1 veio em 1993. No ano seguinte ele virou gerente da equipe, posto que ocupou por mais de vinte anos; já em 2018 ganhou assento no Comitê Executivo da organização. Nos últimos tempos, comandava as atividades históricas da marca como diretor de Programas Especiais e Operações.
Nesse período trabalhou com Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, Robert Kubica e Charles Leclerc, entre outros. Os números da trajetória incluem 36 provas do Mundial de Protótipos e 601 GPs de F1 disputados em sequência.
No anúncio, a montadora alemã enalteceu o dirigente: segundo a Audi, ele jamais abriu mão do "profissionalismo, seu espírito competitivo incansável ou seu desejo de vencer".
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