Regardless of what result Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr manage to score in this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, the Sauber F1 Team will have something to celebrate. The Swiss team will be celebrating the 400th grand prix start in their 23 years of Formula One racing.
The Sauber F1 Team began their racing journey in 1993 with Karl Wendlinger and JJ Lehto, making them the fourth oldest team on the Formula One grid today. The first race of the season was at Kyalami, South Africa, where Lehto managed to post a fifth place finish, while Wendlinger suffered from an engine failure. The San Marino Grand Prix was good fun for Wendlinger, despite failing to finish. “It was exciting as I started the race, surprisingly in P5, just behind Alain (Prost), Damon (Hill), Michael (Schumacher) and Ayrton (Senna),” Wendlinger recalls. “Because of the rain, we started the race with more downforce and I was able to compete against Schumi and Gerhard (Berger). That was a great fight which I still remember well.” The team wrapped up the 1993 season with 12 points.
Two seasons later, the team hit a large milestone when Heinz-Harald Frentzen scored the team’s first podium at Monza. Starting from tenth position on the grid, he put in an astonishing drive to advance to the bottom step of the podium. “For the Sauber F1 Team, as well as for me, it was the first podium in Formula 1. We celebrated this landmark as if it was a victory,” Heinz-Harald Frentzen explained. “I remember this quite well: There were not only tears of joy, but also a lot of champagne flowing. That was very emotional – a superb moment, which can’t be forgotten.”
Sauber has also played host to many rookie drivers, giving them a chance to make their debut in the Sauber car. Drivers like Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen, Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa became alumni of the Swiss team. “My time at Sauber is special to me because it was the start of my Formula One career. Overall I spent three years there, living in Switzerland and learning a lot while in the car,” says Felipe Massa. “We had some good results, and I was in the points in the second race of my first season. My stand out moment was in Canada in 2005 when I finished fourth, but we had many good performances in the years I was there. I have many fond memories.”
Sauber had their best years while under BWM’s ownership. In 2007, the team came runner up in the World Constructors’ Championship, finishing behind Ferrari which had scored over double the amount of points of Sauber. “For me the 2007 season with BMW-Sauber was exceptional. We were on the way to the top and the car suited my driving style well,” Nick Heidfeld describes. “I extracted the full potential from it and took every opportunity that came up for a top three result. My highlight was one maneuver during the Bahrain Grand Prix when I managed to overtake Fernando’s (Alonso) car on the outside, we were wheel to wheel, right on the ragged edge. I have to admit that I watch this moment once in a while, and I am proud that I drove this BMW-Sauber car.”
Although the team did not find themselves second in the championship the following season, the team had two new milestones to celebrate. The first was their first pole position in the Bahrain Grand Prix when Robert Kubica managed to beat Felipe Massa’s time in the final qualifying session. The other was their first race victory and 1-2 finish in Canada. Kubica piloted his Sauber to victory, with Heidfeld directly behind. “I have great memories from my time at Sauber. One of the most important is surely my first ever podium in Formula One, which I celebrated in Monza 2006 together with BMW-Sauber,” Kubica reflected. “My victory at the Canadian Grand Prix two years later in 2008 is definitely a moment to remember forever, not only for myself but also for the team.”
The team has also provided many drivers with some valuable firsts. Kamui Kobayashi was able to celebrate his first career podium in front of his home crowd in 2012. In the same season, Sergio Pérez also celebrated his first podium and an additional two more with the team. “The highlight was my first podium in Malaysia in 2012, which was one of the best races in my career,” says Pérez. “I was able to push Fernando (Alonso) hard for the final few laps and the victory was almost within reach. Then, later that year in Monza, we celebrated another second place.”
Despite having the worst season of in their history when they failed to score any points last season, the Sauber F1 Team have bounced back. The team was able to score 14 points at the season opener in Australia and another 20 points after that. The team has shown their many loving fans that they have what it takes to power through when the going gets tough. Former driver, Kamui Kobayashi, reminded us of this: “During my time at Sauber we had good as well as less good times, but overall we really enjoyed working together. We worked very hard and fought a lot. That is the most important. We always did our best.”
Best of luck to the Sauber F1 Team in the United States Grand Prix and congratulations on such a magnificent achievement. Wishing you a happy 400th Grand Prix anniversary and many more to come.
Check out these related articles:
• Sauber: A Historic Team
Message From The Author:
The Sauber F1 Team holds a special place in my heart and they have played an important role in the growth and development of Racing Clothesline. Sauber was the first team that shared their wonderful visual content for me to use in my articles. This made the website much more appealing and also helped me to get access to more visual content from other teams because it made the website more professional.
The Sauber F1 Team is also the friendliest team that you will ever meet on social media. They are only team, which I know of, that actually engages with their users online. I’ve had the chance to have many interesting and humorous conversations with the Sauber F1 Team, particularly on Google+ and Facebook.
I also have a set of autographs from this season that I cherish. They are currently hanging above my desk. The team is doing a great job and I just wanted to take the time to wish them a happy 400th GP anniversary. Lets get win number two this weekend! Sauber for the win!
