A quarter of a century of Sauber F1
03/24/2017
After years with sports car prototypes, the decision was made in Hinwil in January 1992 to enter the premier class of motorsport. The first test drives with the C12 and the Ilmor engine took place in the fall. The company had around 70 employees at the time. Some of them can be seen in the picture from the first rollout in 1992.
On March 14, 1993, two C12s with Karl Wendlinger and JJ Lehto were on the grid at the South African GP in Kyalami. The first major success was celebrated with a fantastic fifth place and 2 championship points. At the Italian GP in Monza in 1993, Heinz Harald Frentzen was third on the F1 podium for the first time.
As the BMW Sauber team, the long-awaited first victory finally came in 2008. It was not just one victory, but a double victory, which was celebrated in Montreal at the Canadian GP with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld.
The 2012 season, again without BMW, only as Sauber, was certainly the most successful year ever for Sauber F1. The way Sergio Perez fought for victory against Fernando Alonso's Ferrari in Malaysia was first class. In addition, there were three more podium finishes and finally 6th place in the Constructors' Championship.
The day after tomorrow, the team celebrates its 25th anniversary in F1 with the start of the new season in Melbourne. Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson will be behind the wheel. The picture shows the current Sauber during testing in Barcelona.
I have been a regular photographer for the Sauber team since 1986, when the C8 in the Kouros colors won the turbulent 1000 km race at the Nürburgring with Mike Thakwell and Henri Pescarolo, so I have been involved in all the highs and lows of the team for 31 years.
After retiring as an F1 photographer at the end of last year, I still have close emotional ties with the now fourth-oldest F1 team and would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone every success for the coming season: "Go for it guys!"
