Audi announces Beat Zehnder will leave Hinwil in 2026
Beat Zehnder will depart Audi at the end of December 2026 following a restructuring of operations ahead of the 2027 season. The veteran engineer ends a 39-year association with the Hinwil operation that began with Sauber Motorsport in 1988.
Departure from Hinwil
Audi confirmed Beat Zehnder will leave the team at the end of December 2026 following a restructuring of operations ahead of the 2027 season. This departure ends a 39-year association with the Hinwil operation. Zehnder joined Sauber Motorsport in 1988 and worked within the sportscar programme. That programme won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the World Sportscar Championship in both 1989 and 1990. He moved into Formula 1 with the team in 1993. He became team manager in 1994 and held that role for more than two decades. He joined the Management Committee in 2018 and most recently led heritage activities as Director Signature Programs & Operations. Zehnder joined Sauber Motorsport in 1988 and moved into Formula 1 with the outfit in 1993, and he held the position of team manager for more than two decades after being appointed in 1994. I find the decision to remove a 60-year-old veteran who worked on 601 consecutive Grands Prix during a restructuring phase to be a massive loss of institutional continuity and expertise.
Career stats and mentorship
The Swiss engineer worked with many names, including world champions Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, as well as race winners Charles Leclerc, Sergio Perez, Robert Kubica, Felipe Massa, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen during his decades at Hinwil. He leaves the organization with 36 World Sportscar Championship races and 601 consecutive Formula 1 races to his name. He was present on the first day the Formula 1 team opened its doors in 1993 after joining Sauber Motorsport in 1988, five years before they entered the sport. When Audi made Sauber their works team, he moved into a factory-based role as Director of Signature Programs and Operations. Audi said Zehnder was a mentor to hundreds of team members and drivers who passed through Hinwil over the years. The team also stated that during his tenure, he enjoyed both the highs and lows of working in such a demanding sport, never losing his "professionalism, his relentless competitive streak or his desire to win." I see the exit of a man who has been with the squad since before they entered Formula 1 in 1993 as a blunt disruption to the team’s long-term stability. His departure comes as the team prepares for the upcoming Grands Prix in Mexico City, Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. I believe the management is making a mistake by letting such a long-serving figure go just as they reorganize for 2027.
