Audi has announced that veteran engineer, Beat Zehnder is to leave the team at the end of the year.

"Audi Revolut F1 Team places on record its sincere thanks to Beat Zehnder, who will leave the team at the end of December 2026 following the restructuring of its operations ahead of the 2027 season," said the German team in a brief statement.

"We thank him for 39 years of outstanding service and wish him all the very best for the future," it added.

Zehnder has been a mentor to hundreds of team members and drivers who have passed through Hinwil over the years. He joined Sauber Motorsport in 1988 and was part of the team's sportscar programme that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the World Sportscar Championship in 1989 and 1990, before moving into Formula 1 with the team in 1993.

Serving as Team Manager from 1994, he was appointed to the Management Committee in 2018 and most recently led the team's Heritage activities as Director Signature Programs & Operations.

During his tenure he enjoyed both the highs and lows of working in such a demanding sport, never losing his professionalism, his relentless competitive streak and desire to win.

He steps away with 36 World Sportscar Championship races and 601 consecutive Formula One races to his name.

In his time with Sauber, Zehnder mentored many drivers, most notably Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, Robert Kubica and Charles Leclerc.