2025 Italian Grand Prix: Motorhome Story

Hinwil, 4 September 2025 – Monza will be a special weekend for Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber, as we bid farewell to our hospitality building, still known in traditional paddock parlance as “the motorhome”. It will be a poignant moment that brings a stellar career to an end.

The current hospitality building first saw service at the San Marino GP at Imola in April 2006, our first European race under as the team made the transition from independent team to BMW ownership. It feels full-circle that the closing chapter comes as we head into the Audi era andwe acknowledge this transition with a brand-new facility that will be unveiled in Monaco in June.

The current building has thus served us for 20 full seasons, a record in a world where some of our fellow teams have upgraded more than once over that period. The fact that it has lasted so well is a testament to the original efficient and eye-catching design, which still works well against the demands of modern Formula One. However, there’s no denying that times have changed, and more recent constructions make more effective use of the paddock footprint allocated to each team, with three storeys rather than two and much more office space available.

Prior to 2006, like most teams, we had a simple arrangement of two busses connected by a tent. McLaren raised the game with the sport’s first mega paddock building, and other teams soon followed. However, rather than copy rivals, Peter Sauber had his own ideas. "Everyone else was inclined to ramp up their own buildings,” recalls Beat Zehnder who, as Team Manager and later Sporting Director, would play a large role in the life of the motorhome. “And actually, we didn't look left and right. The primary idea of the structure we have now was Peter's and mine, which we developed, I would say, at the beginning of the 2000s. 

“And we said, when we have the money to build something new, it should be spacey, it should look nice, it should be big, but it should require the least number of trucks to transport it. When we were taken over by the new ownership, which was in June 2005, one of the first topics we discussed was obviously the hospitality. We had several meetings, and we tried to sell our idea. And actually, the idea is still pretty good!”

With Fritz Enzinger leading the project on the manufacturer’s behalf, construction was undertaken by specialist firm Bischoff + Scheck in Germany, with a fixed deadline of Imola 2006. “It was a hell of a work from the first concept,” says Beat. “Then we had to make static evaluations, and the whole thing had to be built in seven months in the end. They were working day and night. We were still building it on site in Imola at the race track the first time – we were working from the previous Friday through until the Wednesday.”

As the San Marino GP weekend clicked into gear the new edifice was well received by paddock regulars. “If I remember rightly, everyone was stunned,” says Beat. “It was a beauty, and it's still a beauty. I think it's still one of the nicest-looking hospitalities. It's open, it's inviting, you can see inside, and it has a wide entrance.”

The concept was simple. Two expandable trucks at left and right contain rooms for the drivers and offices for management, communications and marketing, and a third truck at the back is divided two-thirds into a kitchen area and one-third for the air conditioning supply to the whole building. The really clever part – from the idea originally formulated by Peter and Beat – is the central construction, which is covered by the distinctive swooping canopy.

“For the middle bit we have a frame,” says Beat. “And we come with a special truck, pick it up, and place it on hydraulic stems. Then we unfold the upper floor, which is there with hinges. Then we have the lower floors, which unfold. And we move the bar area outside. We've got hydraulic stems with the canopy, which is wrapped into the middle part. And then we unwrap it out. We put some extra frames and put the canopy on top of it. And we're basically done.”

That may sound complicated, but it’s a far quicker and more straightforward process than that required to construct more modern and complicated paddock buildings, and it requires far fewer trucks to transport.

“It is still one of the most effective,” says Beat. “We used to have seven trucks. We had to extend to eight because we changed the interior bar two years ago, so a lot more cabinets and different furniture. And then we had to bring some supplementary equipment, such as extra generators, extra air conditioning, so we went to nine.”

The build and take down also requires fewer crew members than most other paddock buildings.

“Basically, on a normal event to set it up it's the nine truck drivers,” says Beat. “If we're taking it easy, it's done in a day. With a back-to-back, we’ve got extra crew. But we have absolutely no problems packing it down and setting it up at back-to-back races. We are normally one of the first ones ready - so it's pretty convenient in terms of building hours, and in terms of cost.”

Over the 20-year life, the trucks have completed hundreds of thousands of kilometres around Europe, even taking in the Turkish GP, which required a long ferry trip. Thankfully, everything has always run to plan.

“We never really had difficulties or huge problems,” says Beat. “And this is thanks to the build crew as well, because as you can imagine, the canopy, especially in heavy wind conditions, is not so easy to set up. Every now and then they had to wait for a couple of hours before they would start setting it up. But we never missed a race, the kitchen was always fully operational, we always had food, and the drivers’ room showers were always working – which was one of the most important things!”

Over the years the facility has been carefully maintained and updated, a process made easier by the fact that it has spent its winters fully set-up in a covered area in Austria, in part because the canopy has to be kept stretched open and not folded up for long periods.

However, all good things come to an end, and a building that over the years was a second home for the likes of Robert Kubica, Nick Heidfeld, Jacques Villeneuve, Sebastian Vettel, Sergio Perez, Charles Leclerc and Kimi Raikkonen, as well as current drivers, Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto will now be moving on to a new use. 

“Obviously it's lacking space, because these days you go with three storeys over the whole footprint,” says Beat. “And ours, because it's wide and open, is definitely not the best use of space. It's an old lady – still a beautiful old lady – but it's coming to an end on Sunday in Monza. I'm project leader for the new one. In a way, I'm going to miss it, and it’s heartbreaking to see it go. But on the other hand I'm really looking forward to getting the new one in place.”

Details of the new facility are obviously kept under wraps, but we know it will look spectacular in Audi colours, will be state-of-the-art, and will feature more office and catering space. There will also be an overall focus on efficiency and sustainability.

“One of the aims of the FIA, F1 and the teams is Net Zero 2030,” says Beat. “And we're working with F1 and bp Castrol on the possibility to fill all the trucks – and not just the hospitality trucks – with HVO, or hydrogenated vegetable oil. It replaces diesel and generates 90% less CO2. So, this is one of the targets and obligations that we have for the future.”

As always, with Formula One and this team, the push for relentless innovation is on.