F1 News
Alfa Romeo will also celebrate an anniversary during German Grand Prix
Mercedes has created a special one-off livery for the German Grand Prix weekend so that they can celebrate their 125th year in motorsport. They won't be the only team celebrating this weekend as Alfa Romeo also have something to cheer about. They'll be honouring Beat Zehnder's 25th year as a team manager.
At the 1994 German Grand Prix, Zehnder joined Sauber as the team boss for the first time. “It all started after the British Grand Prix in Silverstone in 1994: Sunday night, at a legendary party with Eddie Jordan and his band on the stage. We needed a Team Manager for the Sauber F1 Team and I saw that Beat, who was our Chief Mechanic at that time, was in a good mood. I decided to offer him the job there and then – he slept over it and he accepted," Peter Sauber explained.
According to Sauber, Zehnder was initially appointed in an unconventionally way. His interview for the role in 1987 wasn't impressive.
"Beat got in touch, but the interview was disappointing. He was too young, and he had no interest in racing – he just wanted to be a mechanic. So, I declined. A month later, he called again and as I still desperately needed a mechanic, I gave him the job."
"He became Team Manager seven years later in Hockenheim and now, 25 years on, he’s still an integral part of the team. You just can’t imagine Sauber Motorsport and Alfa Romeo Racing without him."
