Motorsport
Audi takes over the Sauber Formula 1 team completely
Audi will enter Formula 1 in 2026 and will take over 100 percent of the shares of the Sauber team. photo
© Olivier Matthys/AP/dpa
Audi wants to enter Formula 1 with its own racing team for the 2026 season. The car manufacturer is now even going beyond its original plans.
Eliminated with the complete takeover of Formula 1 partner Sauber Audi has the last doubts about its entry into the premier motorsport class. The car manufacturer confirmed its plans to take over 100 percent of the Sauber Group and thus go beyond its originally announced commitment.
Audi originally wanted to acquire a 75 percent stake in the Swiss Formula 1 racing team, but now the previous majority owner, including Tetra Pak heir Finn Rausing, has been completely eliminated.
The current Sauber managing director Andreas Seidl will also take on this position with the Audi team in the future. In August 2022, the car manufacturer announced its billion-dollar entry into Formula 1 for the 2026 season. “We have ambitious goals,” Seidl was quoted as saying in the statement. The former McLaren team boss added that the takeover of Sauber will further accelerate the implementation of these plans
Audi is already building the new engine for its Formula 1 project in Neuburg an der Donau. The chassis comes from Hinwil from the Sauber team, which is still competing in the racing series this season under the name Kick Sauber.
Overall responsibility for Audi’s Formula 1 project will be the previous development director Oliver Hoffmann, who, along with former Audi boss Markus Duesmann, was the driving force for the expensive undertaking. Hoffmann becomes chairman of the Sauber Group’s board of directors. The new Audi boss Gernot Döllner will take over his previous position as head of development.