Beat Zehnder

Swiss mechanic

Beat Zehnder
Born (1966-01-09) 9 January 1966 (age 58)
Zürich, Switzerland
NationalitySwitzerland Swiss
CitizenshipSwiss
OccupationEngineer
EmployerAlfa Romeo Racing
Known forFormula One mechanic and team manager
TitleSporting director

Beat Zehnder (born 9 January 1966)[1] is a Swiss Formula One engineer. He is currently the sporting director at the Alfa Romeo Racing Formula One team. He has been with the Swiss team since its inception in 1993, and has attended every single race.[2]

Career

Beat Zehnder has been a part of the Sauber family since the 1980s. He started with the Swiss outfit as a mechanic in the early days of the team's partnership with Mercedes Benz, moving from the number two mechanic to the number one in the space of a year. When the team began to concentrate their efforts on launching their own F1 team, he moved across from the mechanics side to work on logistics.[3] However, Zehnder was swiftly returned to his mechanics duties, becoming the team manager and chief mechanic in 1994.[4] In 1995, Peter Sauber asked Zehnder to concentrate exclusively on logistics and team management and thus he became the team manager, which is a role he still holds today, albeit in an evolved form as Sporting Director at the renamed Alfa Romeo Racing.[5] In his current role Zehnder represents the team in discussions with the FIA and sporting working group as well as managing logistics and garage operations. Throughout his time at the Swiss team, Zehnder has mentored many drivers such as Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, Robert Kubica and Charles Leclerc.[6]

Personal life

Zehnder is married to Nadine Imboden. The couple were married in 31 December 2006.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Beat Zehnder". SauberF1Team.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Get to know Beat Zehnder – the F1 ironman who has been with Sauber for all 500 Grands Prix". F1.com.
  3. ^ "Beat Zehnder". Sidepodcast.com.
  4. ^ "Celebrating a legend of the sport – Beat Zehnder". Sauber motorsport.
  5. ^ "Alfa team manager on Covid F1's logistical headaches". planetf1. 26 April 2021.
  6. ^ ""There's still five in front of me": How Raikkonen reacted to sixth on his debut". racefans.net. 16 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Beat Zehnder 25 Jahre Teammanager bei Sauber – Weltrekord". Blick.ch (in German). 25 July 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Italy Alfa Romeo in Formula One Switzerland
Alfa Romeo S.p.A. (19501951)
Notable personnel
Carlo Chiti
Gioacchino Colombo
Notable drivers
Italy Luigi Fagioli
United Kingdom Reg Parnell
Italy Felice Bonetto
World Champion(s)
Italy Giuseppe Farina
Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio
Drivers' titles
1950
1951
Formula One cars
158
159
Related
Alfa Romeo S.p.A.
Alfa Corse
Autodelta/Team Alfa Romeo (19791985)
Alfa Romeo F1 Team (2019–2023)
  • v
  • t
  • e
Switzerland Sauber F1 Team
Founder
Current
2024 drivers
Notable personnel
Notable drivers
Former drivers
See category
Sportscars
Formula One cars
  • v
  • t
  • e
Germany BMW in Formula One

As an engine manufacturer
World Champion(s)
Brazil Nelson Piquet
Drivers' titles
1983