It all began by chance. Peter Sauber wasn’t really interested in motor sport, but a friend persuaded him to have some tuning work done on his VW Beetle. In 1967 Sauber entered a few club races with it, but it was above all his interest in tinkering with cars that was sparked – so strongly, indeed, that in 1970 the qualified electrician decided to set himself up independently as a constructor of open two-seater race cars. He designed the Sauber C1 in the cellar of his parents’ house and took the initial letter of his wife Christiane’s name as the model designation. In the same year he won the Swiss Championship with the C1, but subsequently only raced on and off. By the time Sauber strapped on his helmet for the last time in 1973, his focus had already turned entirely to the construction side. The first major successes began in the late 1980s after Sauber had managed to persuade Mercedes to return to international racing. Highlights of the partnership with the Stuttgart carmaker were a one-two finish in the 1989 Le Mans 24 Hours as well as winning the Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ title twice in the World Sports Car Championship of the time (1989 and 1990). Among the drivers who earned their racing spurs under Sauber’s aegis were three who went on to become Formula One aces: Michael Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Karl Wendlinger. Sauber began preparations for Formula One in 1991. When the Mercedes-Benz and PP Sauber AG partnership were debating their racing future in the early 1990s with the demise of the World Sports Car Championship in prospect, it was decided over the summer of 1991 to turn Formula One into a joint project. Preparations in Stuttgart and Hinwil were making good progress and initially there seemed no reason not to embark on this new venture. It thus came as a severe blow to Peter Sauber when, in November 1991, the Mercedes executive board decided against a Formula One involvement for the foreseeable future. In January 1992 Sauber decided to go it alone – albeit with financial and technical support from Mercedes, but at the same time taking on a considerable personal risk. Nevertheless, on 14th March 1993 two Sauber C12 cars were on the Kyalami grid, as planned, ready for the start of the South African GP. JJ Lehto’s fifth-placed finish made it a debut to celebrate. Prior to that, just four teams in the history of Formula One had picked up points in their maiden race. Contracts with Red Bull and Petronas provided a solid foundation from 1995 on, enabling the Swiss team to establish itself as a firm fixture of Formula One. It took some time for the breakthrough to come, but then in 2001 three highlights in the team’s history followed in quick succession: the partnership with the major Swiss bank Credit Suisse, confirmation of fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship in mid-October and, a few days later, the groundbreaking ceremony for the company’s own wind tunnel. From 1993 through to 2005 the Sauber Team entered 216 Grands Prix. Balanced against 257 completed races, 93 of which brought in championship points, there were 169 retirements. Eight of these occurred at such a late stage that the drivers were nevertheless classified – JJ Lehto even coming fourth at Imola in 1993. The total line-up of 17 Sauber drivers claimed a tally of 428 GP starts The team’s best results are three third places. On two occasions victory seemed within grasp: at the 1996 Monaco GP, Frentzen was in a promising position but ended up in fourth place after colliding with Eddie Irvine’s Ferrari while trying to pass him, and later dropping further back on account of two extra pit stops. At the 1999 French Grand Prix, Jean Alesi spun off a wet track and out of the race just before the Safety Car came out.
