page_title: Peter Sauber
section_title: Team Sauber
hierarchical_section_title: Peter Sauber / Motorsport career / Team Sauber
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Sauber-Mercedes C9 (Baujahr 1988), früherer Wagen von Schlesser/Mass, beim Oldtimer-GP gefahren von Rob Sherrard und Park Wanpe
context_page_description: Peter Sauber is a retired Swiss motorsport executive. He was the team principal and owner of various motorsports teams, most visibly the eponymous Sauber Formula One team.
context_section_description: After opting not to run the family traffic light business, Peter built the Sauber C1 (the C stands for Christiane, the name of Peter Sauber's wife) in his parents' basement. It was a car of tubular frame, powered by a 1-litre Ford Cosworth engine. He subsequently drove it to the 1970 Swiss hillclimb championship. It also remained in racing for ten years in the hands of other drivers, notably Friedrich Hürzeler, who took the 1974 crown in the car.
  In 1971, Sauber handed over the driver's seat to Hans Kunis, who drove the new Sauber C2 model in the same series, as Peter himself had done so the year before.
  Sauber had started to gain a portfolio of customers and in 1973, Sauber built three C3 spec chassis for different customers. Designed by Guy Boisson, the car was used predominantly in the Swiss Sports Car Championship.
  The C4 of 1975 heralded the first aluminium chassis developed by the team, and Boisson was joined by Edy Wiss in designing it. Only one C4 was ever produced.
  The most successful of the early Sauber cars, the C5 was used to great effect in conjunction with its 2-litre BMW engine—taking the 1976 Interserie Championship in the hands of Herbert Muller.
  Being a Group 6 sports car, the car was allowed to take part in the legendary Le Mans 24 heures race, and Sauber entered the C5 in both 1977 and 1978. In '77 the car led its class before retiring; the same thing happened in '78.
  1979 marked the end of Sauber's first foray into sports car building – and the start of preparing chassis for Lola F2 cars. The drivers finished 1–2–4 in the championship that year – one of them was Max Welti, who subsequently joined the team as team manager.
  In 1980, and 1981, Sauber and Welti turned their attentions to developing BMW M1 sportscars, in the latter year it won the 1000km Nürburgring.
  In 1982, with BASF sponsorship, Sauber returned to sports car racing. The C6 was the first car to be tested in a wind tunnel by Sauber. It was during these tests that Sauber built up a strong relationship with Leo Ress, who would later become instrumental in the F1 project.
  In 1985, the team's relationship with Mercedes-Benz began. This sports car partnership culminated in November 1991 – having ignited the career of Michael Schumacher and Sauber's own protégé, Karl Wendlinger.
caption: Sauber-Mercedes C9 (built in 1988), former car Schlesser/Mass, at the 2009 Oldtimer Grand Prix.
exif: {}